HANDBOOKS faStudtntsandGenerai  Readers 


AMERICAN  POLITICS 
JOHNSTON 


LIBRARY 

UNIV^i     -.if  OF 
CALi       PNIA 

SAN    ''-GO       I 


presented  to  the 

LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  •   SAN  DIEGO 

by 

FRIENDS  OF  THE  LIBRARY 

MR.   &  MRS.   RICHARD  KORNHAUSER 

donor 


LIBRARY 

NlVe»*6lTY  O 
CAUFORH1A 


)  v 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

BY 
ALEXANDER    JOHNSTON, 

Professor  of  Jurisprudence  and  Pol'tical  Ecommy  in  the  College  of  New 

Jersey:  Author  of  "A  History  of  American  Politics" 

etc.,  etc. 

With  numerous  Maps  and  Illustrations.      I2mo. 


T1 


'IIIS  book  is  a  history  of  the  United  States,  and  not  like  most 
other  school  histories,  principally  a  history  of  the  colonies 
from  which  the  United  States  sprang.  It  is  not  a  story-book  or  a 
picture-book,  though  it  has  more  pictures  of  real  things  than 
any  preceding  school  history  of  the  United  States.  It  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  careful  attempt  to  convey  to  the  mind  of  the 
future  voter  such  lessons  from  our  political  and  economic  expe- 
rience as  the  youthful  mind  is  ready  to  receive. 

There  are  already  plenty  of  good  story-books  about  colonists 
and  Indians,  and  it  hardly  seems  wise  for  a  school  history  to  force 
itself  into  a  hopeless  competition  with  them.  History  is  a  task 
and  a  method  of  mental  discipline  ;  our  school  histories  attempt  to 
relieve  it,  as  no  one  attempts  to  relieve  grammar  or  arithmetic,  by 
story-telling.  One  result  has  been  that  the  history  of  the  compar- 
atively unimportant  colonial  period  has  been  assigned  an  inordin- 
ately large  space.  So  much  room  is  given  to  the  stories  of  Smith 
and  Pocahontas,  Putnam  and  the  wolf,  and  similar  episodes,  that 
the  real  history  of  the  United  States  is  cramped,  marred,  and 
brought  to  a  lame  and  impotent  conclusion.  Judging  from  the 
space  usually  assigned  to  each,  a  reader  must  conclude  that  the 
history  of  the  United  States  deserves  a  much  larger  treatment  for 
the  time  when  the  population  was  but  200,000  than  for  the  time 
when  the  population  was  50,000,000. 

Very  few  boys  will  ever  have  an  opportunity  to  lead  colonies, 
armies,  or  legislatures;  but  almost  every  American  boy  will  soon  be 
called  upon  to  vote  upon  questions  which  involve  some  under- 
standing of  the  political,  financial,  and  economic  problems  of  the 
past.  His  need,  therefore,  is  to  learn  from  the  history  of  the 
past,  not  so  much  how  to  be  "a  great  man,"  as  how  best  to  per- 
form the  simple  and  homely  duties  of  good  citizenship.  The 
average  school-boy  must  get  his  information  concerning  such 
matters  from  his  school  history  of  the  United  States,  if  he  is  to  get 
it  at  all. 


JOHNSTON'S  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

The  design  of  this  book,  then,  is  not  simply  to  detail  the  events 
which  make  up  the  history  of  the  United  States,  but  also  to  group 
those  events  which  seem  likely  to  shed  light  on  the  responsibilities 
of  the  citizens,  and  to  shed  the  light  in  connection  with  the  event. 
In  this  process,  the  effort  has  been  made  to  interest  the  pupil  in 
the  wonderful  development  of  the  United  States  and  the  difficult 
economic  problems  which  have  grown  out  of  it. 

Topics  not  essential  to  the  main  subject,  such  as  the  tribal  in- 
stitutions of  the  aborigines,  and  the  Spanish  conquests  of  Mexico 
and  Peru,  have  been  left  untouched.  In  narrating  wars,  while  the 
effort  has  been  made  to  give  a  definite  idea  of  the  purposes,  plans, 
and  results  of  campaigns,  it  has  net  seemed  best  to  encumber  the 
narration  with  a  catalogue  of  engagements  and  commanders  whose 
very  names  are  only  a  spring  of  confusion.  Maps  in  abundance 
are  given,  and  illustrations  of  real  persons  and  things  pertinent 
to  the  text. 

Geography  and  Chronology,  "the  two  eyes  of  history,"  have 
been  given,  it  is  hoped,  their  due  and  proper  places. 

Geography  has  been  applied  by  questions  on  the  localities 
referred  to  in  the  text.  The  text  has  been  arranged  with  careful 
attention  to  geographical  unity.  In  the  narrative  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, for  example,  the  operations  in  each  geographical  section  have 
been  kept  distinct  and  complete  in  themselves,  with  only  the  sug- 
gestion, by  cross  references,  of  the  connecting  links  which  show 
the  unity  of  the  whole  conflict. 

In  the  text,  Chronology  has  been  treated  as  subordinate  to  the 
greater  importance  of  geographical  unity.  An  exact  chronological 
summary  has,  however,  been  added  to  each  chapter. 

Two  sizes  of  type  have  been  used.  The  matter  in  larger  type  is 
itself  a  complete  work.  The  smaller  type  is  not  intended  netes- 
sarily  for  recitation,  but  for  reading,  for  reference,  or  for  comment 
and  amplification  by  the  teacher.  Statistics,  of  which  many  are 
given,  are  in  the  finest  type  only. 

Cross  References  are,  as  teachers  know,  one  of  the  most  essen- 
tial helps  in  historical  study.  The  sections  are  numbered  consec- 
utively. It  is  thus  easy  to  introduce  the  cross  references  in 
parentheses  into  the  body  of  the  text,  where  the  pupil  can  not  fail 
to  see  them  and  can  readily  comprehend  them. 

State  Histories,  in  brief  summary,  have  been  given  for  all  the 
new  States.  No  pupil  is  expected  to  recite  on  any  of  them  except 
that  of  his  own  State. 

Catch  words  are  printed  in  heavy  type  at  the  beginning  of  each 
section. 

HENRY    HOLT   &    CO., 

Publishers,  New  York. 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


HISTORY  OF  AMERICAN  POLI- 
TICS. New  edition,  Revised  and  Enlarged. 
New  York  :  HENRY  HOLT  &  Co.  i6mo. 


HISTORY  of  the  UNITED  STATES. 
With  Maps  and  Illustrations.  New  York  : 
HENRY  HOLT  &  Co.  i2mo. 

AMERICAN  ORATIONS,  FROM  THE 
COLONIAL  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 
— Selected  as  specimens  of  eloquence,  and 
with  rpecial  reference  to  their  value  in  throw- 
ing light  upon  the  more  important  epochs 
and  issues  of  American  History.  Edited, 
with  introductions  and  notes,  by  ALEXANDER 
JOHNSTON.  New  York  :  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S 
SONS.  Three  volumes,  i6mo. 


HA  NDB  O  OKS  for  StHdrnfrM^Generar Readers. 


HISTORY    OF 


AMERICAN  POLITICS 


BY 


ALEXANDER  JOHNSTON,  A.M. 

SECOND  EDITION,  REVISED,  AND  ENLARGED 

(EIGHTEENTH  THOUSAND) 


NEW  YORK 
HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 

1889 


COPYRIGHT,  1879,  1882, 
BY  HENRY  HOLT  &  Co. 


TROW6 
PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  COMPANY. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 

THIS  book  was  first  published  in  March,  1879. 
Since  that  time  corrections  have  been  made  for  each 
of  the  eight  times  that  the  book  has  been  put  to 
press,  but  these  have  been  comparatively  so  unim- 
portant that  it  has  not  at  any  time  seemed  fitting  to 
call  the  result  a  new  edition.  It  would  hardly  be 
proper,  however,  to  allow  this  issue  to  go  out  except 
as  a  new  edition.  In  it  the  whole  book  has  been 
carefully  revised  and  brought  down  to  date  ;  detached 
portions  have  been  rewritten  ;  the  whole  outline  his- 
tory from  1868  until  1881  has  been  given  very  much 
more  fully  than  was  possible  while  events  were  still 
uncertain  ;  and  a  new  appendix,  called  for  by  many 
correspondents,  has  been  added  in  the  form  of  a  list 
of  the  cabinets  of  the  successive  administrations,  with 
the  dates  of  appointment. 

For  the  guidance  of  readers  who  desire  to  study 
more  fully  the  history  of  which  this  is  an  outline,  a 
classified,  list  of  authorities  is  given  below. 


viii  Preface. 

The  scope  of  the  book  will  be  sufficiently  indicated 
by  repeating  the  last  paragraph  of  the  preface  to  the 
first  edition  : 

"The  design  of  the  book  is  not  to  present  the 
politics  of  the  States,  or  to  criticise  party  manage- 
ment, but  to  make  our  national  political  history 
easily  available  to  young  men.  It  is  of  interest  to 
the  whole  republic  that  young  citizens  should  be  able 
to  learn  that  true  national  party  differences  have  a 
history  and  a  recognized  basis  of  existence,  and 
should  be  prevented  from  following  factitious  party 
differences,  contrived  for  personal  objects  by  selfish 
men.  If,  for  this  purpose,  this  book  shall  be  consid- 
ered worthy  to  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the  larger 
works  already  in  existence,  its  object  will  be  accom- 
plished." 

NOKWALK,  CONN.,  January  2,  1882. 


AUTHORITIES. 

HISTORICAL.— Bancroft's  United  States  (to  1782);  Pitkin's 
United  States  (to  1797)  ;  Hildreth's  United  States  (to  1820) ; 
Hamilton's  Republic  of  the  United  States  ;  Tucker's  United 
States  (to  1840)  ;  Hammond's  Political  History  of  New  York 
(to  1840);  von  Hoist's  United  States  (vol.  3,  to  1850);  Spen- 
cer's United  States  (to  1856) ;  Benton's  Debates  of  Congress 
(1789-1850);  Appleton's  Annual  Cyclopedia  (1861-1880); 
Statutes  at  Large  ;  Electoral  Count ;  Benton's  Thirty  Years' 


Preface.  ix 

View  (1820-50)  ;  North  American  Review,  January,  1876 
("Politics  in  America");  Draper's  Civil  War  in  America; 
Greeley's  American  Conflict  (to  1865)  ;  Statesman's  Manual 
(101858);  Wilson's  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power  ;  Lunt's 
Origin  of  the  Late  War;  Giddings's  Rebellion. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. — Marshall's  Life  of  Washington  ;  Randall's 
Life  of  Jefferson  ;  Adams's  Life  of  John  Adams  and  Life  of 
John  Quiucy  Adams  ;  Rives' s  Life  of  Madison  ;  Jay's  Life 
of John  Jay  •  Sparks'  s  Life  of  Gonverneur  Morris  ;  Austin's 
Life  of  Gerry  ;  Parton's  Life  of  Burr  and  Life  of  Jackson  ; 
Hammond's  Life  of  Wright ;  Garland's  Life  of  Randolph  ; 
Colton's  Life  of  Clay ;  Curtis's  Life  of  Webster  ;  Schuckers's 
Life  of  Chase  ;  Pollard's  Life  of  Jefferson  Davis  ;  Raymond's 
Life  of  Lincoln;  Tyler's  Life  of  Taney ;  Barnes's  Thirty- 
ninth  and  Fortieth  Congresses ;  Spencer's  Life  of  T.  F. 
Bayard ;  Poore's  Political  Register. 

HISTORICAL  (SPECIAL  PERIODS).— Lodge's  English  Colo- 
nies;  Frothingham's  Rise  of  the  Republic;  Curtis's  History 
of  the  Constitution ;  Jameson's  Constitutional  Convention ; 
H.  Adams's  Documents  Relating  to  New  England  Federal- 
ism ;  Dwight's  Hartford  Convention  ;  Carey's  Olive  Branch  ; 
Ingersoll's  Second  War  -with  Great  Britain  ;  Peters's  Cherokee 
Case;  Gouge's  Banking  in  the  United  States;  Stryker's 
American  Register  (1849-51)  ;  Cairnes's  Slave  Power  ;  Gree- 
ley's Slavery  Restriction  ;  Chittenden's  Peace  Conference ; 
McPherson's  History  of  the  Rebellion  and  History  of  the  Re- 
construction ;  Putnam's  Rebellion  Record ;  Whiting's  War 
Powers ;  Callau's  JMilitary  Laws ;  Eaton's  Civil  Service  in 
Great  Britain  ;  The  Nation  (1865-81). 

STRICT  CONSTRUCTION. — Van  Buren's  Origin  of  Political 
Parties ;  Capen's  Democracy;  Gillet's  Democracy  in  the 
United  States  ;  Jefferson's  Writings  ;  Madison's  Writings  ; 
Woodbury's  Writings ;  Calhoun's  Works ;  Hunt's  Life  of 
Livingston  ;  Sedgvvick's  Political  Writings  of  William  Leg- 
gett ;  Byrdsall's  Loco-Foco  Party;  Hamilton's  Memoir  of 


x  Preface. 

Rantoul ;  Democratic  Review  ;  Harris's  Political  Conflict ; 
Biichanarfs  Administration ;  A.  H.  Stephens'  War  Between 
the  States  ;  Centz's  Republic  of  Republics. 

LOOSE,  OR  BROAD,  CONSTRUCTION. — Hamilton's  Works; 
John  Adams's  Works ;  Webster's  Works ;  Clay's  Speeches  ; 
Story's  Commentaries  ;  Whig  Review  ;  Ormsby's  Whig  Par- 
ty ;  Seward's  Works ;  Sumncr's  Works;  Creswell's  Speeches 
of  Henry  Winter  L/avis  ;  Mulford's  The  Nation  ;  Andiews's 
Handbook  of  the  Constitution  ;  Farrar's  Manual ;  Tiffany's 
Constitutional  Lazv ;  Hurd's  Theory  of  the  United  States 
Government. 

MISCELLANEOUS.  —  Tribune  Almanac  (1838-81);  Cluskey's 
Political  Text-book;  Greeley's  Political  Text-book  of  1860; 
Congressional  Reports  (particularly  those  on  Kansas,  Harper*s 
Ferry,  Covode  Investigation,  Impeachment  of  President  John- 
son, Reconstruction,  Ku-Klux  Conspiracy,  Credit  Mobilier, 
Louisiana);  Poore's  Federal  and  State  Constitution;  Appen- 
dix D  is  to  be  credited  to  Spofford's  American  Almanac  ;  Ap* 
pendix  Jfh&s  been  furnished  by  the  various  Departments. 


CONTENTS. 

PREFACE  AND  AUTHORITIES,        .  .  .  iii 

INTRODUCTION,    ......        I 

CHAPTER  I. 

Origin  of  Political  Parties  in  the  United  States.  Formation 
of  the  Constitution  of  1787,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Federal  Party,  .....  3 

CHAPTER  II. 
FIRST  ADMINISTRATION,   1789-1793.      Settlement  of  the 

government,  and  rise  of  the  Republican  Party,         .       18 

CHAPTER  III. 

SECOND  ADMINISTRATION,  1793-1797.  The  political  con- 
tests of  Europe  transferred  to  America.  Success  of 
the  Federalists  in  the  first  national  party  contest,  .  28 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THIRD  ADMINISTRATION,  1797-1801.  Continued  success 
of  the  Federalists.  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws.  Defeat 
of  the  Federalists.  The  disputed  election  of  1800,  41 

CHAPTER  V. 
FOURTH  ADMINISTRATION,   1801-1805.     The  Republican 

Paity  in  power.     Purchase  of  Louisiana,     .  .52 

xi 


xii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

FIFTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1805-1809.  Continued  decline  of 
the  Federal  Party.  The  Napoleonic  Wars.  The 
Embargo,  .  .  .  .  .  .60 

CHAPTER  VII. 
?IXTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1809-1813.    War  with  England. 

Opposition  to  it  by  the  Federalists,  .  .       69 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
SEVENTH   ADMINISTRATION,    1813-1817.      Discontent    in 

New  England.     The  Hartford  Convention.     Peace,       76 

CHAPTER  IX. 

EIGHTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1817-1821.  Disappearance  of 
the  Federal  Party.  Appearance  of  loose  construction- 
ist  Republicans.  Purchase  of  Florida.  The  Slavery 
Question,  and  the  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820,  .  83 

CHAPTER  X. 

NINTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1821-1825.  The  Era  of  Good 
Feeling.  Real  existence  of  Parties.  The  disputed 
election  of  1824,  .  .  .  .  93 

CHAPTER  XI. 

TENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1825-1829.  Formation  of  the 
National  Republican  and  Democratic  Parties.  Suc- 
cess of  the  Democrats,  .  .  .  96 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ELEVENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1829-1833.  The  Opposition. 

Rotation   in    office.      Nullification.  The    National 

Bank,           ...  .     IO3 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

TWELFTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1833-1837.  Removal  of  the 
Deposits.  Success  of  the  President.  Slavery  and 
the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  .  .  .  I  If 


Contents.  x 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THIRTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1837-1841.  Panic  of  1837. 
Defeat  of  the  Democrats.  Appearance  of  an  Aboli- 
tion Party,  .  .  .  .  •  »2$ 

CHAPTER  XV. 

FOURTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1841-1845.  The  Whig 
Party  in  power.  Its  disagreement  with  President 
Tyler.  Success  of  the  Democrats,  and  Annexation 
of  Texas,  .  .  .  .  .  .  IJ2 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

FIFTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1845-1849.  The  Democratic 
Party  in  power.  War  with  Mexico.  The  Slavery 
Question  revived  as  to  territory  acquired  from  Mexico. 
The  Wilmot  Proviso.  The  Formation  of  the  Free 
Soil  Party.  The  Whig  Party  evades  the  Slavery 
Question,  ......  141 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

SIXTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1849-1853.  The  Whig 
Party  in  power.  Adoption  of  Squatter  Sovereignty 
by  the  Democrats.  California.  The  Compromise  of 
1850.  Its  acceptance  by  the  Whig  Convention,  .  151 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SEVENTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1853-1857.  The  Demo- 
cratic Party  in  power.  The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill, 
and  the  Repeal  of  the  Compromise  of  1820.  Divi- 
sion of  the  Whig  Party.  Rise  of  the  Republican  and 
American  Parties.  Kansas,  .  .  .158 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

EIGHTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1^7-1861.  The  Dred 
Scott  Decision,  and  its  Consequences.  Southern 
Democrats  reject  Squatter  Sovereignty.  Division  of 
the  Democratic  Party.  Success  of  the  Republicans. 
Secession,  Conciliation,  and  attennitec  Compromise,  170 


xiv  Contents. 

CHAPTER   XX. 

NINETEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1861-1865.  The  Repub- 
lican Party  in  Power.  Civil  War.  Loose  Construc- 
tionist  Measures.  The  Democratic  Party  opposes  the 
War  and  is  defeated.  Abolition  of  Slavery,  .  .  186 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

TWENTIETH  ADMINISTRATION,  1865-1869.  Return  of  the 
seceding  States  to  the  Union.  Reconstruction.  Dis- 
agreement between  Congress  and  the  President.  The 
Democratic  Party  opposes  Reconstruction  by  Congress 
and  is  defeated 196 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

TWENTY-FIRST  ADMINISTRATION,  1869-1873.  Reconstruc- 
tion by  Congress  accomplished,  and  the  results  of  the 
War  finally  accepted  by  the  Democratic  Party.  The 
"  Liberal  Movement."  Success  of  the  Republican 
Party 209 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

TWENTY-SECOND  ADMINISTRATION,  1873-1877.  Disturb- 
ances in  the  South.  The  enforcement  of  Reconstruc- 
tion. The  disputed  Presidential  Election  of  1876,  .  223 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

TWENTY-THIRD  ADMINISTRATION,  1877-1881.  Questions  of 
Currency  and  Financial  Legislation.  The  condition  of 
the  Civil  Service 238 

Ai  PENDIX  A.  Articles  of  Confederation,  ....  248 

APPENDIX  B.  The  Constitution, 262 

APPENDIX  C.  Admission  of  the  States 289 

APPENDIX  D.  Summary  of  Popular  and  Electoral  Votes  in 

Presidential  Elections,  1780-1880, 290 

APPENDIX  E.  Population  of  the  Sections,  1790-1860,  .  .  297 
APPENDIX  F.  Congressional  Representation  of  the  Sections, 

1790-1860, 298 

APPENDIX  G.  The  Sections  in  1870  and  1880,  .  .  .  299 
APPENDIX  H.  Cabinet  Officers  of  the  Administrations,  .  300 
INDEX 305 


INTRODUCTION. 

1.  THE  government  of  the  United  States1,  in  its  origi- 
nal form  (in  1777),  was  an  extreme  Democracy,  whose 
controlling  principle  was  the  complete   independence 
of   separate   communities.     Those   who    opposed    its 
change  to  a  Representative  Republic  (in  1787)  were 
generally  distinguished  afterwards  by  a  desire  that  the 
Constitution  then  adopted  should  be  construed  or  in- 
terpreted strictly  according  to  its  terms,  and  that  in- 
genious interpretations  of  its  provisions  should  not  give 
the  Federal  Government  any  further  stretch  of  power. 
The  party  which  was  thus  founded,  and  which  has  re- 
tained the  name  of  Democratic-Republican  even  to  our 

.  own  day,  has  therefore  usually  been  called  the  Strict 
ConstrucfHonist  party. 

2.  On  the  other  hand  the  successive  parties  which 
have  opposed  the  Strict  Constructionist  view,  and  have 
endeavored  to  carry  the  government  still  further  from  its 
originally  extreme  democratic  form,  have  generally  been 
distinguished  by  a  desire  that  the  Constitution  should 
be  interpreted  loosely  and  broadly,  so  as  to  give  the 


2  American  Politics. 

Federal  Government  increased  power  in  various  objecli 
of  national  importance.  They  have  therefore  usually 
been  called  Loose  Constructionist,  or  Broad 
Constructionist,  parties.1  Their  policy  has  neces- 
sarily been  one  of  attack,  and  each  of  them  has,  in  the 
main,  been  successful  in  securing  a  general  acceptance 
by  the  whole  country  of  the  principle  upon  which  its 
formation  was  based.2 

3.  This  question  of  a  strict  or  a  loose  construction  of 
the  Constitution  has  always  been  at  the  root  of  legiti- 
mate national  party  differences  in  the  United  States. 
Ail  other  pretended  distinctions  have  been  either  local 
and  temporary,  or  selfish  and  misleading,  and  the  gen- 
eral acceptance  of  any  such  party  difference  would 
mark  an  unfortunate  decline  in  the  political  intelligence 
of  the  people. 

1  It  must  not  be  imagined,  however,  that  any  party  has  ever  called  itself 
"The  Strict  Constructionist  Party,"  or  "The  Loose  Constructionist  Party." 
lliese  names  are  used  as  descriptions,  not  as  titles. 

*  The  Federalists  succeeded  in  forming  a  stronger  Central  Government; 
Ihe  Whigs  in  maintaining  for  the  Central  Government  the  powerof  making  cer- 
tain Internal  Improvements  at  national  expense;  and  the  Republicans  in 
maintaining  for  the  Central  Government  the  power  of  abolishing  Slavery  (first 
in  the  Territories,  and  afterwards  in  the  States  also),  of  coercing  a  rebellious 
Prtate,  and  of  protecting  the  slaves  when  set  free.  The  power  of  the  Centra] 
Govemment  to  lay  Protective  Duties  on  imports,  and  to  organize  a  national 
banking  system,  was  maintained  for  a  time  by  the  Wh-gs.  and  revived  uut 
turied  into  effect  by  the  republicans. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORIGIN  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES 

i.  Political  Parties  in  the  United  State:  had  no 
real  existence  until  the  revolution  which  dissolved  al 
legiance  to  Great  Britain.  Most  of  the  colonies  were 
under  royal  or  proprietary  governments,  in  some  of 
which  there  was  a  deliberative  assembly.  But  in  none 
of  these  did  the  people  have  such  an  influence  upon  the 
government  as  would  have  given  to  their  differences  of 
political  opinion  the  distinction  of  party  membership. 
In  the  New  England  Colonies  the  opportunities 
for  the  formation  of  parties  were  greater.  The  immi- 
grants in  this  section  of  America  had  brought  with 
hem  the  town  system  of  local  government,  and  had 
left  behind  them  the  strong  central  power  which  had 
held  it  in  check  in  England.  They  had  also  the  good 
fortune,  or  the  political  foresight,  to  obtain  charters 
from  the  king,  by  which  they  were  allowed  to  exercise 
powers  of  government  denied  to  the  other  colonies 
To  these  charters  they  clung  with  tenacity,  and  theii 
distance  from  England  made  it  difficult  for  the  king  to 


4  American  Politics.      \Circa  1760 

overcome  their  stubborn  resistance  to  his  endeavors  tc 
withdraw  the  gift,  when  its  results  had  roused  his  sus- 
picion and  dislike.  The  consequence  was  the  estab- 
lishment in  New  England  of  a  multitude  of  petty 
towns,  each  a  pure  democracy.  In  these  were  put  iu 
practice  without  question  the  principles  of  personal  lib- 
erty, trial  by  jury,  the  voting  of  taxes  by  the  people, 
and  the  responsibility  of  public  officials  to  the  people, 
for  which  all  the  succeeding  years,  and  a  great  expend- 
iture of  blood  and  money,  have  hardly  been  able  to  se- 
cure recognition  elsewhere.  But  the  questions  debated 
and  decided  in  these  petty  democracies,  or  even  in  the 
larger  colonial  assemblies,  were  not  such  as  give  rise  to 
settled  differences  of  opinion  and  political  parties.  For 
these  a  broader  field  was  necessary. 

2.  This  principle  of  Popular  Sovereignty  had 
spread  rapidly  from  the  townships  to  the  collective  New 
England  colonies,  but  was  longer  in  influencing  the 
colonies  to  the  southward.  It  was  not  until  about  the 
year  1760  that  this  work  can  be  considered  accom- 
plished. By  that  time  most  of  the  thinking  men  in  the 
colonies  agreed  in  believing  that  in  the  colonies  rested 
the  right  to  govern  themselves.  The  principle  had 
beau  repeatedly  announced  in  theory  before  revolution 
was  thought  of,  but  personal  loyalty  to  the  king,  pride 
in  the  name  of  Englishman,  and  the  infrequent  exercise 
by  England  of  her  asserted  rights  of  absolute  dominion 
over  her  colonies,  permitted  it  to  lie  dormant.  In  the 
year  1760  the  financial  necessities  of  England  drove  her 
into  a  fifteen  years'  intermittent  endeavor  to  govern  th« 


/7761  Whig  and  Tory.  5 

colonies  without  their  consent.  The  attempt  at  .once 
awakened  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty,  and  the 
continuing  contest  increased  the  extent  of  its  accept- 
ance, until  it  became  strong  enough  to  overcome  the 
forces  which  had  hitherto  held  it  in  check. 

3.  During  this  period  of  contest  the  English  paiiy 
names,   Whig   and   Tory,   became    naturalized   it 
America.     Their  use  at  first  was  only  nominal,  for  those 
who  claimed  them  had  no  power  to  influence  the  course 
of  government.     Lord  North  and  his  Tory  ministry 
and  party,  being  in  power  and  in  need  of  money,  ad- 
vocated repressive  and  coercive  measures  toward  the 
insubordinate   colonies,  and  these  were  naturally  op- 
nosed   by  the   Whigs,  the   party  in   opposition.     The 
name  of  Whig,  therefore,  became  more  popular  yearly 
in  the  colonies,  and  was  the  boast  of  thousands  whose 
only  claim  to  it  lay  in  their  gratitude  to  the  real  Whigs 
in  England. 

4.  The  successive  Congresses  of  delegates  from  the 
different  colonies,  which  gradually  learned  to  exercise 
all  the  functions  of  government,  to  form  an  army  and 
navy,  to  organize  a  post-office  department,  and  to  raise 
money  for  national  purposes,  were  recognized  and  at- 
tended  only  by  the   so-called   American    Whigs. 
Therefore,  although    they  offered   no    opportunity  for 
party  contests,  they  at  least  gave  the  American  Whigs 
an   influence,  whether   rightful   or   usurped,  upon   the 
course  of  government,  and  thus  made  them  the  first 
American  political  party.     As  soon  as  independence 
was  announced,  in  1776,  to  be  the  final  object  of  the 


6  American  Politics.  [1776 

contest,  the  names  Whig  and  Tory  lost,  in  America 
whatever  ot  British  significance  they  had  ever  possessed. 
One  who  espoused  the  cause  of  the  revolted  colonies  was 
called  a  'Whig,  and  one  who  still  clung  to  the  mother 
country  and   the   crown    was   called  a   Tory.     Th 
Tory  party  was  finally  abolished  at  the  close  of  the  Rev 
olution,  when  the   triumphant  Whigs  confiscated  th 
estates  of  its  more  active  members,  and  compelled  their 
owners  to  emigrate. 

5.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  1776  most  of  the  States 
had  settled  their  forms  of  State  government.  These 
were  generally  such  adaptations  of  the  old  colonial  gov- 
ernments as  the  altered  condition  of  affairs  seemed  tc 
demand.  But  there  was  greater  difficulty  in  settling  a 
collective  government  for  all  the  States.  The  idea  of 
popular  sovereignty,  of  local  government,  had  spread 
from  the  township  to  the  county,  and  from  the  county 
to  the  colony,  without  evil  results.  But  the  difficulty 
of  intercommunication,  and  the  diversity  of  local  inter- 
ests, caused  each  State  to  regard  the  others  as,  in 
great  measure,  foreign  soil.  And,  now  that  a  Confed- 
eracy was  to  be  formed,  the  determination  of  each 
Stile  to  allow  no  dictation  from  its  neighbors,  or  from 
the  new  Federal  Government,  was  found  to  be  an  in- 
Uiperable  barrier  against  the  formation  of  a  close  union 
fn  i.heir  anxiety  to  be  without  a  master  the  States  left 
themselves  without  a  government. 

6?  The  form  of  government  for  the  new  Confeder 
acy1  was  agreed  upon  in  Novemter,  1777.     The  Con 

1  See  Appencix  A. 


1 777-]  First  Confederation.  J 

gress  was  to  be  composed  cf  not  more  than  seven,  01 
less  than  two,  delegates  from  each  Stale,  to  be  chosen 
by  the  Legislature.  The  States  were  to  be  equal  in 
power,  each  having  but  one  vote,  no  mattei  how  great 
its  population  or  wealth.  There  was  to  be  no  Presi 
dent  or  other  Executive  power,  except  committees  o* 
Congress.  Important  measures  required  the  votes  of 
nine  of  the  thirteen  States,  and  amendments  required 
the  votes  of  all.  Congress  had  hardly  more  than  an 
advisory  power  at  the  best.  It  had  no  power  to  pre- 
vent or  punish  offenses  against  its  own  laws,  or  even  to 
perform  effectively  the  duties  enjoined  upon  it  by  the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  It  alone  could  declare  war, 
but  it  had  no  power  to  compel  the  enlistment,  arming, 
or  support  of  an  army.  It  alone  could  fix  the  needed 
amount  of  revenue,  but  the  taxes  could  only  be  col- 
lected by  the  States  at  their  own  pleasure.  It  alone 
could  decide  disputes  between  the  States,  but  it  had  no 
power  to  compel  either  disputant  to  respect  or  obey  its 
decisions.  It  alone  could  make  treaties  with  foreign 
nations,  but  it  had  no  power  to  prevent  individual 
States  from  violating  them.  Even  commerce,  foreign 
and  domestic,  was  to  be  regulated  entirely  by  the  States. 
and  it  was  not  long  before  State  selfishness  began  to 
show  itself  in  the  regulation  of  duties  on  imports.  In 
everything  the  States  were  to  be  sovereign,  and  theii 
creature,  the  Federal  Government,  was  to  have  only 
strength  enough  to  bind  the  States  into  nominal  unity, 
and  oniy  life  enough  to  assure  it  of  its  own  practical 
Miuv)tence.  The  jealous  States  then  felt,  with  consitl 


8  American  Politics. 

erable  satisfaction,  that  their  liberties  \\ere  reasonably 
secure 

7.  A  human  society  bound  together  by  no  strongei 
lies  than  those  provided  by  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration must  tend  naturally  to  anarchy.  Even  dui 
ing  the  War  of  Revolution  the  weakness  of  the  govern- 
ment seemed  to  many  to  portend  financial  ruin  and  a 
speedy  dissolution  of  the  Union.  As  soon  as  the  press- 
ure of  war  was  removed  the  symptoms  of  disintegra- 
tion grew  alarmingly  worse.  Congress  had  become  a 
mere  Rump,  without  dignity,  without  power,  and  with- 
out a  home.  It  .was  compelled  to  appeal  repeatedly 
to  the  States  before  it  could  obtain  a  quorum  of  mem 
bers  to  ratify  the  treaty  of  peace.  Many  of  the  States 
icfused  or  neglected  to  pay  even  their  allotted  shares 
of  interest  upon  the  public  debt,  and  there  was  no 
power  in  Congress  to  compel  payment.  Eighteen 
months  were  required  to  collect  only  one-fifth  of  the 
taxes  assigned  to  the  States  in  1783.  The  national 
credit  became  worthless.  Foreign  nations  refused  to 
make  commercial  treaties  with  the  United  States,  pre- 
ferring a  condition  of  affairs  in  which  they  could  lay 
any  desired  burden  upon  American  commerce  without 
fear  of  retaliation  by  an  impotent  Congress.  The  na 
innal  standing  army  had  dwindled  to  a  corps  of  eight} 
men.  In  1785  Algiers  declared  war  against  the  Un  tea 
States.  Congress  recommended  the  building  of  five 
4o-gun  ships  of  war.  But  Congress  had  only  powei 
to  recommend.  The  ships  were  not  built,  and  the  Al- 
gerines  were  permitted  to  prey  on  Americjn  commerc* 


1785-]  Taxation. — Revision.  9 

with  impunity.  England  still  refused  to  carry  out  the 
Treaty  of  1783,  or  to  send  a  Minister  to  the  United 
States.  The  Federal  Government,  in  short,  was  dc- 
S]v.sed  abroad,  and  disobeyed  at  home. 

8  The  apparent  remedy  was  the  possession  by  Con- 
gress of  the  power  of  levying  and  collecting  internal 
taxes  and  duties  on  imports,  but,  after  long  urging,  it 
was  found  impossible  to  gain  the  necessary  consent  of 
all  the  States  to  the  article  of  taxation  by  Congress. 
In  1786,  therefore,  this  was  abandoned,  and,  as  a  last 
resort,  the  States  were  asked  to  pass  an  Amendment 
intrusting  to  Congress  the  collection  of  a  revenue  from 
imports.  This  Amendment  was  agreed  to  by  all  the 
States  but  one.  New  York  alone  rejected  it,  after  long 
debate,  and  her  veto  seemed  to  destroy  the  last  hope 
of  a  continuance  of  national  union  in  America.  Per- 
haps the  dismay  caused  by  the  action  of  New  York  was 
the  most  powerful  argument  in  the  minds  of  many  foi 
an  immediate  and  complete  revision  of  the  government. 

9.  The  first  step  to  Revision  was  not  so  designed. 
In  1785  the  Legislatures  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  in 
pursuance  of  their  right  to  regulate  commerce,  had  ap- 
pointed Commissioners  to  decide  on  some  method  of 
doing  away  with  interruptions  to  the  navigation  of 
Chesapeake  Bay.  The  Commissioners  reported  their 
inability  to  agree,  except  in  condemning  the  Articles  of 
Confederation.  The  Legislature  of  Virginia  followed 
the  report  by  a  resolution,  inviting  the  other  States  to 
meet  at  Annapolis,  consider  the  defects  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  suggest  some  remedy.  In  September,  1 786, 


10  American  Politics. 

delegates  from  five  of  the  Middle  States  assembled,  bin 
confined  themselves  to  discussion,  since  a  majority  of 
the  States  were  not  represented.  The  general  conclu- 
sion was  that  the  government,  as  it  then  stood,  was  in- 
adequate for  the  protection,  prosperity,  or  comfoit  of 
the  people,  and  that  some  immediate  and  thorough  re 
form  was  needed.  After  drawing  up  a  report  for  thei? 
States  and  for  Congress,  recommending  another  con- 
vention, to  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1787,  they 
adjourned.  Congress,  by  resolution,  approved  their  re- 
port and  the  proposed  Convention. 

10.  The  Convention  met  as  proposed,  May  i4th, 
1787,  being  composed  of  delegates  from  all  the  States, 
with  the  exception  of  Rhode  Island.  Its  proceedings 
were  secret,  but  an  account  of  them  was  afterwards 
drawn  up  from  Mr.  Madison's  notes.  Washington,  who 
was  a  delegate  from  Virginia,  was  chosen  a.?  presiding 
officer,  and  the  Convention  decided  to  transcend  the 
instructions  given  to  the  delegates,  and  form  an  entirely 
new  Constitution,  on  the  ground  that  the  work  must 
finally  be  submitted  to,  and  approved  by,  the  people, 
before  it  could  go  into  effect.  May  29th,  Randolph,  of 
Virginia,  offered  the  so-called  "  Virginia  plan "  for  a 
new  government.  It  consisted  of  fifteen  points,  of 
vhich  the  most  important  were  that  representation  io 
the  new  Congress  should  be  proportional  to  population 
and  that  Congress  should  have  power  to  compel  ihe 
States  to  fulfill  their  obligations.  These  provisions  were 
particularly  distasteful  to  the  smaller  States,  who  pre- 
fen-ed  the  "  New  Jersey  plan,"  offered  ty  Patters  >n,  oi 


1787.]        The  Constitution  of  1787.  n 

New  Jersey,  which  continued  the  old  Confederation^ 
but  with  the  additional  power  to  regulate  commerce, 
and  to  raise  a  revenue.  By  this  plan  the  smaller  and 
larger  States  would  still  have  been  equal  in  power, 
June  1 9th  the  Convention  rejected  the  New  Jersey 
plan,  and  took  up  that  of  Virginia  for  consideration. 
After  long  debate  a  compromise  was  made.  The 
smaller  States  agreed  to  take  a  proportional  share  in 
the  lower  of  two  Houses  of  Congress,  in  return  for  an 
equal  share  in  an  upper  House.  The  question  of  omit- 
ting or  including  slaves  in  reckoning  population  as  a 
basis  for  representation  was  compromised  by  agreeing 
to  estimate  them  as  equal  to  three-fifths  of  the  same 
number  of  whites.  The  friends  and  enemies  of  the 
slave-trade  agreed  not  to  prohibit  it  until  1808.  Other 
debatable  questions  were  adjusted  in  the  same  spirit, 
and  in  September,  1787,^6  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  was  completed,1  being,  like  all  other  sound  and 
lasting  political  works,  the  result  of  wise,  judicious,  and 
even-handed  compromise. 

n.  Any  full  discussion  of  The  Constitution  of 
1787  must  be  left  to  the  treatises  upon  it.  But  there  are 
some  points  which  require  notice,  in  view  of  party  ac- 
tion upon  them.  Unquestionably  the  most  important 
creation  of  the  Constitution  was  The  Federal  Judi- 
ciary. It  will  be  seen  that  the  only  guarantee  for  the 
observance  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  was  the 
naked  promise  of  the  States.  This  had  been  found  tc 
oe  utterly  worthless.  The  creation  of  a  system  of 

1  See  Apper.  lix  B,  where  the  Confederation  is  compared  with  »t. 


12  American  Politic. 

United  States  Courts,  extending  throughout  the  States, 
and  empowered  to  define  the  boundaries  of  Federa] 
authority,  and  to  enforce  its  decisions  by  Federal  power, 
supplied  the  element  needed  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos. 
Without  it  the  Constitution  might  easily  have  proved  a 
more  disheartening  and  complete  failure  than  the  Arti 
cles  of  Confederation. 

12.  How  far  The  New  Federal   Government 
succeeded  to  the  sovereign  rights  of  the  States  and 
formed  a  centralized  government  in  their  place  each 
must  decide  for  himself  by  a  study  of  the  Constitution, 
and  on  his  decision  will  depend  generally  his  party 
membership.     All  agree  that  the  new  Federal  Govern- 
ment succeeded  to  at  least  a  part  of  the  sovereign  rights 
previously  vested  in  the  States,  that  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment thus  obtained  what  it  had  previously  lacked, 
the  power  over  individuals,  and  that,  within  the  sphere 
abandoned  to  it,  the  Federal  Government  is  supreme. 
How  far  that  sphere  extends  is,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
always  will  be,  a  great  party  question.     The  very  Pre- 
amble, "we,  the  people  of  the   United   States,"  has 
been  construed  by  one  party  as  an  assertion  that  the 
Constitution  was  adopted  by  the  people  of  each  Statt 
for  itself,  and  by  the  opposite  party  as  announcing  th 
consolidation  of  discordant  states  into  one  powerful  na 
lion,  not  a  mere  league.     All  agree  that  it  was  intended 
"to  form  a  more  perfect  union,"  but  all  do  rot  agree 
as  to  how  nearly  perfect  that  union  was  to  be. 

13.  The  Powers  Granted  to  Congress  in  Arth 
cte  I,  \  8,  should  be  carefully  studied,  for  the  antagc 


1787.]         Nature  of  the  Constitution.  13 

nistic  views  of  the  Strict  Constructionist  and  Loose  Con- 
structionist  parties  have  always  been  most  clearly  shown 
in  interpreting  them.  For  instance,  under  the  clause* 
which  give  Congress  the  power  to  establish  post-roads, 
and  to  provide  for  the  common  defense,  Loose  Con- 
structionists  have  claimed,  and  Strict  Constructionista 
have  denied,  that  Congress  has  power  to  appropriate 
public  money  for  the  building  of  roads,  and  for  general 
internal  improvements.  There  is  hardly  a  clause  in  this 
whole  section  upon  whose  interpretation  and  applica- 
tion the  members  of  opposite  parties  agree,  except  when 
impelled  to  do  so  by  selfish  interests. 

14.  Is  the  Union  a  federal,  or  league,  government,  as 
claimed  by  the  Strict  Constructionists,  or  a  centralized 
national  governmsnt,  as  claimed  by  the  Loose  Con- 
structionists ?     Tne  question  may  best  be  answered  in 
the  words  of  Mr.  Madison:  "The  Constitution  is,  in 
strictness,  neither  a  national  nor  a  federal  constitution, 
but  a  composition  of  both.     In  its  foundation  it  is  fed- 
eral, not  national ;  in  the  sources  from  which  the  ordi- 
nary powers  of  the  government  are  drawn  it  is  partly 
federal  and  partly  national;  in  the  operation  of  these 
powers  it  is  national,  not  federal ;  in  the  extent  of  them, 
again,  it  is  federal,  not  national;  and,  finally,  in  the  au- 
thoritative mode  of  introducing  Amendments  it  is  nei- 
ther wholly  federal,  nor  wholly  national." 

15.  Only  thirty -nine  of  the  fifty-five  delegates  to  the 
Convention  signed  the  Constitution,  and  it  cannot  truly 
be  said  that  it  really  satisfied  any  one.     Had  it  been 
entirely  satisfactory  to  one  great  patty,  it  would  have 


14  American  Politics.  [1787 

been  intolerable  to  the  other.  But  it  w;.s  a  coi  ipromisc 
in  every  important  particular,  and  each  party,  while  la 
menting  its  own  concessions,  could  derive  some  satis- 
faction from  considering  those  of  its  adversaries.  For, 
on  the  question  of  its  adoption,  the  people  of  the  Unite*  1 
States  had  at  last  divided  into  opposing  parties,  Feder 
alists  and  Anti-federalists,  though  both  parties  varied 
these  formal  titles  by  the  use  of  such  spiteful  and  op- 
probrious epithets  as  party  hatred  so  well  knows  how 
to  invent  and  apply. g 

16.  The  extreme   Federalists  were  anxious  for  a 
strong  government,  and,  if  possible,  for  a  monarchy. 
During  the  secret  proceedings  of  the  Convention  the 
report  was  common  that  the  "  high-flying  "  Federalists 
had  induced  it  to  call  an  English  prince  to  the  throne 
of  the  United  States.     The  great  mass  of  the  party 
however,  had  no  such  desire.     They  despised  the  Con- 
federacy as  a  mere  "  rope  of  sand,"  which  would  fall 
apart  at  the  first  shock,  and  leave  the  separate  States  to 
become  the  successive  prey  of  a  foreign  enemy,  or  of 
each  other.     In  place  of  it  they  wished  to  see  a  strong 
republican  government,  fitted  to  make  itself  respected 
abroad,  and  obeyed  at  home.     In  supporting  the  new 
Constitution  the  Federalists  were  aided  by  many  who 
were  their  natural  opponents,  but  who  either  despaired 
of  anything  better,  or  were  influenced  by  respect  for  the 
great  names  appended  to  or  favoring  it. 

17.  The  extreme  Anti-federalists  wished  for  no 
Federal  Government  whatever,  but  for  a  continuance 
of  the  league  between  thirteen  independent  republic? 


1787.]  State  Conventions.  IJ 

The  great  mass  of  the  party  were  united  only  in  oppos- 
ing the  new  Constitution,  which  seemed  to  them  fan- 
tastic and  experimental,  and  a  fit  instrument  to  deprive 
he  States  of  the  liberties  which  they  had  gained  by  the 
sword.  But  no  definite  and  united  line  of  action  was 
taken  by  the  Anti-federalists.  Many  of  them  united 
with  the  Federalists  in  accepting  and  voting  for  the 
Constitution,  but  with  the  hope  and  expectation  of  fut- 
ure amendments.  The  whole  party  in  a  few  years  be- 
came a  Strict  Constructionist  party,  accepting  the  Con- 
stitution unreservedly,  but  aiming  to  confine  the  powers 
of  the  Federal  Government  to  the  letter  of  its  terms. 

18.  September  lyth,  1787,  the  new  Constitution  was 
transmitted  to  Congress  and  thence  referred  to  Con- 
ventions of  the  several  States  for  adoption  or  rejec- 
tion. The  opposition  was  chiefly  in  the  great  States  of 
New  York,  Virginia,  and  Massachusetts,  but  was  shown 
in  varying  degrees  in  all  the  Conventions.  Many  of 
the  States  followed  the  "  Massachusetts  plan,"  adopting 
the  Constitution,  but  strongly  recommending  amend- 
ments to  it.  Even  with  this  expedient,  it  was  only 
adopted  by  votes  of  31  to  29  in  New  York,  88  tc 
80  in  Virginia,  and  187  to  168  in  Massachusetts. 
North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  at  first  rejected,  but 
inois  than  a  year  afterward  adopted  it,  their  ratifica- 
tions only  reaching  Congress  in  1790. 

KJ.  According  to  the  terms  of  the  Constitution,  ij 
\vas  to  go  into  effect  as  soon  as  rdopted  by  nine  States. 
The  contest  between  Federalists  and  Anti-federalists 
lasted  for  months.  A  noble  relic  of  the  controversy  if 


16  American  Politics. 

the  series  of  papers  written  by  Hamilton,  Jay,  and  Mad 
ison,  over  the  joint  signature  of  Publins,  explaining  and 
defending  the  Constitution.  They  are  known  collect- 
ively as  T) ' e  Federalist.  It  was  not  until  June  2ist 

1788,  that  the  ninth  State  ratified  the  Constitution,  and 
it  became  an  accomplished  fact.     New  York  and  Vir 
ginia  soon  afterwards  ratified  it,  and  only  North  Caro- 
lina and  Rhode  Island  refused.     July  i4th,  1788,  the 
Congress  of  the  Confederacy,  which  was  in  session,  re- 
ferred the  ratifications  received  from  nine  States  to  a 
committee  which  reported  a  resolution  for  carrying  the 
new  government  into  effect.     There  was  some  difficulty 
in  deciding  upon  a  time  and  place  of  meeting  for  the 
new  Congress,  but  it  was  finally  fixed  at  New  York, 
March  4th,  1789.     The  first  Wednesday  of  January, 

1789,  was  appointed  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  Pres- 
ident and  Vice-President,  and  the  first  Wednesday  in 
February  for  the  voting  of  the  electors. 

20.  The  Constitution  has  always  been  plain 
enough  to  guide  the  policy  of  the  statesman  and  the 
decisions  of  the  judge,  and  yet  elastic  enough  to  give 
full  play  to  honest  differences  of  opinion  and  party  con 
test,  and  to  fit  the  body  politic  at  any  time  during  its 
growth  from  3,000,000  to  40.000,000  inhabitants.  The 
first  eleven  Amendments  were  added  so  soon  after  its 
adoption  that  they  may  fairly  be  considered  a  part  of 
the  original  instrument.  It  was  then  complete,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  change  in  the  manner  of  vot- 
rng  for  President  and  Vice-President,  aftei  the  disputed 
election  of  1800,  nc  further  alteration  was  found  neceo- 


1788.]        The  Constitution  Adopted.  17 

sary  until  the  extirpation  of  Slavery  introduced  three 
Amendments  which  would  have  been  impracticable  in 
1787.  Even  now,  with  the  exception  of  the  old  tor- 
ment of  the  Presidential  election,  there  is  seldom  any 
serious  suggestion  of  a  point  in  which  the  Constitution 
would  be  benefited  by  a  revision.  Its  wheels  move  as 
smoothly  to-day  as  at  any  time  since  the  inauguration 
of  the  first  President.  Their  motion  is  so  quiet  that  we 
are  usually  unconscious  of  our  own  comfort.  The  tests 
of  foreign  and  civil  war,  of  bitter  party  and  personal 
contests,  of  financial  convulsion  and  an  unparalleled 
prosperity,  have  tried  and  approved  it.  The  stability 
of  our  own  government,  compared  with  the  radical 
changes  in  those  of  every  other  civilized  nation  during 
the  past  ninety  years,  is  an  honorable  memoiial  of  the 
political  wisdom  of  the  men  who  framed  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1787,  and  of  their  desceiidanls  who  ha  /e  ex- 
pounded and  obeyed  it. 
8 


CHAPTER  II. 

FIRST  ADMINISTRATION,   1789-1793. 

Washington,  President.  John  Adams,  Vice-  Preai deal 

1st  and  Hd  Congresses. 

i.  MARCH  4th,  1789,  had  been  appointed  for  the 
1st  Congress,  formal  inauguration  of  the  new 
Extra  Session.  Government,  but  the  members 
elect  had  not  yet  unlearned  the  Confederacy's  slovenly 
habits.  It  was  not  until  April  6th  that  a  sufficient 
number  of  members  of  Congress  arrived  in  New  York 
to  form  a  quorum  and  count  the  electoral  votes.  At 
that  time,  and  until  1805,  no  electoral  votes  were  cast 
distinctively  for  President  and  Vice-President.  Each 
elector  voted  by  ballot  for  two  persons.  If  a  majority 
of  all  the  votes  were  cast  for  any  person,  he  who  re 
ceived  the  greatest  number  of  votes  became  President 
and  he  \\  ho  received  the  next  greatest  number  became 
Vice-President.  When  the  votes  were  courted  in  1789 
they  were  found  to  be,  for  George  Washington,  of 
Virginia,  69  (each  of  the  electors  having  given  him 
one  vote),  for  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  34 
18 


1789-]  Organization. — Cabinet.  19 

and  35  for  various  other  candidates.  Washington  re- 
ceived notice  of  his  election,  and,  after  a  triumphal 
progress  northward  from  his  home  at  Mount  Vernon, 
was  sworn  into  office  April  3oth.  The  Vice-President 
had  taken  his  place  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  a 
few  days  before. 

2.  Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
chosen  Speaker  of  the  House,  but  the  vote  had  no  party 
divisions,  for  Parties  were  still  in  a  state  of  uttei 
confusion.     Between  the  extreme  Anti-federalists,  who 
considered  the  Constitution  a  long  step  toward  a  des- 
potism, and  the  extreme  Federalists,  who  desired  a 
monarchy  modeled  on  that  of  England,  there  were  all 
varieties  of  political  opinion.     The  union  between  the 
moderate  members  of  both  parties  in  support  of  the  new 
form  of  government  still  existed.     The  extreme  impor- 
tance of  Washington  lay  in  his  ability,  through  the  uni- 
versal confidence  in  his  integrity  and  good  judgment, 
to  hold  together  this  alliance  of  moderate  men  for  a 
time,  and  to  prevent  party  contest  upon  the  interpreta- 
tion of  Federal  powers  until  the  Constitution  should 
show  its  merit  and  be  assured  of  existence. 

3.  The  President  selected  his  Cabinet  with  a  care- 
fal  regard  to  the  opposite  opinions  of  his  supporters. 
The   Treasury   Department  was   given  to  Alexander 
Hamilton,  of  New  York,  a  Federalist,  and  a  lavvyei 
of  distinguished  ability,  who  had  served  with  credit  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  was  considered  the  ablest 
man  of  his  party.     The  War  Department  was  given  to 
General  Henry  Knox,  of  Massachusetts,  also  a  Fed- 


2O  American  Politics. 

eralist.  The  State  Department  was  given  to  Thomai 
Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  an  Anti-federalist.  He  was  the 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  had 
the  confidence  of  all  the  factions  of  his  divided  party. 
Edmund  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  also  an  Anti-federal- 
ist, was  appointed  Attorney-General,  and  John  Jay, 
of  New  York,  a  Federalist,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court. 

4.  Twelve    Amendments  were   adopted  by  this 
Session  of  Congress,  in  order  to  meet  the  conscientious 
objections  of  many  moderate  Anti-federalists,  and  to 
take  the  place  of  a  "  Bill  of  Rights."     Ten  of  these, 
having  received  the  assent  of  the  necessary  number  of 
States,  became  a  part  of  the  Constitution,  and  now 
stand  the  first  ten  of  the  Amendments.      They  were 
intended   to   guarantee   freedom  of  religion,  speech, 
person,  and  property.      The  positive  requests  of  so 
many  States,  and  the  continued  refusal  of  two  States 
to   enter  the  Union,  were  strong  incentives  to  their 
adoption,  and  the  opposition  to  them  came  mainly 
frcm  the  extreme  Anti-federalists,  who  considered  them 
delusive  and  insufficient,  and  only  calculated  to  create 
a  fatal  feeling  of  security  against  centralized  govern- 
ment. 

5.  The  most  important  work  of  this  Session  was  the 
Regulation  of  Commerce  and  the  settlement  of  a 
Tariff.     During  the  debate  some  of  the  Anti-federal- 
ists made  an  attempt  to  arrange  the  duties  so  as  t« 
discriminate  against  England  and   in   favor  of  other 
nations,  but  the  attempt  failed  in  the  Senate.     A  Tariff 


1 790.]  The  Public  Debt.  21 

Act  was  passed  by  both  Houses,  and  appro  >red  July 
4th.  Its  preamble  stated  one  of  its  objects  to  be  "the 
encouragement  and  protection  of  manufactures."  This 
language  is  notable  as  stating  the  main  object  of  the 
"American,"  or  High  Protective  Tariff,  system,  thirty 
years  before  it  became  a  party  tenet.  After  directing 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the 
ettlement  of  the  public  debt,  Congress  adjourned 
September  29th,  until  the  following  January.  In  No- 
vember, 1789,  North  Carolina  finally  ratified  the 
Constitution,  and  entered  the  Union. 

6.  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia,  January  4th,  1790. 
1st  Congress,     January   gth   Hamilton  offered   his 

ist  Session.  famous  Report  on  the  Settle- 
ment of  the  Public  Debt.  It  consisted  of  three 
recommendations,  first,  that  the  foreign  debt  of  the 
Confederacy  should  be  assumed  and  paid  in  full; 
second,  that  the  domestic  debt  "of  the  Confederacy, 
which  had  fallen  far  below  par  and  had  become  a 
synonym  for  worthlessness,  should  also  be  paid  at  its 
par  value ;  and  third,  that  the  debts  incurred  by  the 
States  during  the  Revolution,  and  still  unpaid,  should 
be  assumed  and  paid  in  full  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. 

7.  Hamilton's  First  recommendation  was  adopted 
unanimously.      The  Second  was  opposed,  oven  by 
Madison  and  many  moderate  Anti-federalists,  on  the 
ground  that  the  domestic  debt  was  held  by  speci  labors, 
who  had  bought  it  at  a  heavy  discount,  an<?  would 
thus  gain  usurious  interest  on  their  investment.     Ham- 


22  American  Politics  L!79° 

flton's  supporters  argued  that,  if  only  for  that  reason, 
they  should  be  paid  in  full,  that  holders  of  United 
States  securities  might  learn  not  to  sell  them  at  a  dis- 
count, and  that  the  national  credit  might  thus  be 
strengthened  for  all  time  to  come.  After  long  debate 
ihe  second  recommendation  was  also  adopted. 

8.  Hamilton's  Third  recommendation  involved  a 
question  of  the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government. 
It  therefore  for  the  first  time  united  all  the  Anti-feder- 
alists in  opposition  to  it.     They  feared  that  the  rope  of 
sand  of  the  Confederacy  was  being  carried  to  the  op- 
posite extreme;    that  the  "money  power"  would,  by 
this  measure,  be  permanently  attached  to  the  Federal 
Government ;  and  that  the  States  would  be  made  of 
no  importance.      But  even  this  recommendation  was 
adopted,  though  only  by  a  vote  of  31   to  26  in  the 
House.     A  few  days  later,  however,  the  Anti-federal- 
ists received  a  reinforcement  of  seven  newly  arrived 
North  Carolina  members.     The  third  resolution  was  at 
once  reconsidered,  and  voted  down  by  a  majority  of 
two. 

9.  Hamilton  secured  the  final  adoption  of  the  third 
resolution  by  a  bargain  which  excited  the  deep  indig- 
nation of  the  Anti-federalists.     A  National  Capital 
was  to  be  selected.     The  Federalists  agreed   to  vote 
that  it  should  be  fixed  upon  the  Potomac  River,  after 
remaining  ten  years  in  Philadelphia,  and  two  Anti-fed- 
eralist members  from  the  Potomac  agreed  in  return  to 
vote  for  the  third  resolution,  which  was  then  finally 
adopted.     Hamilton  s  entire  report  was  thus  successful 


I79°-J  The  National  Bank.  23 

Its  immediate  effects  were  to  appreciate  the  credit  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  enrich  the  holders  of  the  Conti- 
nental debt.  Its  further  effect  was  to  make  Hamilton 
so  much  disliked  by  Anti-federalists  that,  despite  \.  3 
acknowledged  talents,  his  party  never  ventured  to  nom- 
inate him  for  any  elective  office.  Congress  adjourned 
August  1 2th,  1790.  During  this  long  Session  there 
was  no  further  decided  party  contest.  In  May  Rhode 
Island  ratified  the  Constitution,  and  entered  the 
Union,  which  now  included  all  the  old  thirteen  colonies. 
10.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1790.  Its  de- 
ist Congress,  bates  were  mostly  on  finance. 
2d  Session.  Hamilton  proposed  the  establish- 
ment of  a  National  Bank,  to  act  as  financial 
agent  of  the  Government.  This  involved  another 
question  of  Federal  poweis,  and  renewed  party 
contest.  The  Federalists  claimed  that  Congress, 
having  the  undoubted  power  to  pass  all  laws  nec- 
essary for  the  collection  of  revenue  and  taxes,  might 
constitutionally  charter  a  bank  for  that  purpose.  The 
Anti-federalists  claimed  that  such  a  bank  was  not  nec- 
fssary,  though  it  might  be  convenient,  and  hecce  was 
beyond  the  power  of  Congress.  This  diffeience  of 
opinion,  trivial  at  first  sight,  continued  to  be  the  subject 
of  bitter  party  feeling,  at  intervals,  for  fifty  years.  The 
bill  passed  both  Houses,  and  the  President  was  im 
portuned  to  veto  it.  He  demanded  the  written  opin- 
ions of  his  Cabinet.  In  the  struggles  of  succeeding 
years  upon  the  same  subject,  Hamilton's  argument  in 
favor  of  the  constitutionality  of  a  National  Bank  has 


24  American  Politics.  [i79i- 

hardly  been  improved  upon,  or  added  to.  It  prevailed 
in  the  mind  of  the  President  over  those  of  Jefferson  ana 
Randolph,  and  he  signed  the  bill.1  At  this  Session 
the  unpopular  Excise  Law,  to  provide  funds  for  the 
debts  assumed  by  the  Government,  passed  both  House 
against  the  opposition  of  most  of  the  Anti-federalists 
Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1791.  March  4th,  Ver- 
mont, formerly  called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants, 
whose  people  had  for  many  years  resisted  New  York's 
claim  of  jurisdiction  over  them,  and  had  claimed  to  be 
an  independent  republic,  entered  the  Union. 

ii.  Congress  met  October  24th,  1791.  Jonathan 
lid  Congress,  Trumbull,  of  Connecticut,  was 
ist  Session.  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House. 
The  number  of  Federalists  was  slightly  reduced, 
but  the  Administration  was  supported  generally  by 
a  large  majority  of  both  parties.  The  Anti-federal- 
ists opposed  an  increase  of  the  army  and  of  the 
Tariff,  but  both  bills  became  law.  An  Apportionment 
Bill  was  also  passed  at  this  Session,  which  had  no 
party  interest.  It  increased  the  number  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  to  105.  Congress  adjourned  May 
8th,  1792.  June  ist  Kentucky,  formerly  a  part  of 
the  State  of  Virginia,  entered  the  Union. 

*  The  Bank,  thus  created,  continued  in  existence  until  1811,  when  the  op. 
posite  party  w:is  in  power  and  refused  to  recharter  it.  Another  National  Bank 
was  chartered  in  1816,  became  the  object  of  violent  attack  by  Strict  Construe- 
tonists,  and  :eased  to  exist  in  1836.  Other  attempts  were  made  without  suc- 
cess, Dy  Loose  Constructionists,  to  charter  a  National  Brink,  and  the  project 
tlspt  until  1862.  During  the  Rebellion  (1861-1865)  'he  so-called  Greenback 
Currency  took  l"  e  place  of  a  National  Bank,  with  power  to  make  forced  loans 


Party  Organization.  23 

12.  Party  Organization  may  be  considered  as 
fairly  begun  about  the  close  of  this  Session.     The  oc- 
casional irritation  shown  in  the  debates  is  an  evidence 
that  the  first  ill-defined  estimate  of  the  new  scheme  of 
government  was  giving  way  to  positive    and  settled 
opinions  of  its  powers,  and  of  the  policy  which  should 
be  followed  in  managing  it.     It  is  probable  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  American  people  were  Anti-federalist  in 
1789,  although  the  Federalists,  by  the  active  assistance 
of  many  of  their  natural  opponents,  had  gained  the 
Executive,  the  Senate,  the   House,  the  Judiciary,  and 
most  of  the  State  Legislatures,  and  were  able  to  defeat 
the  disagreeing  factions  known  collectively  as  Anti- 
federalists.     In  1792  affairs  were  beginning  to  settle 
into  a  more  natural  order.     The  various  Anti- federalist 
factions,   by   union   in   resisting   the   Federalists,  had 
learned  to  forget  minor  differences,  and  had  been  weld 
ed  into  one  party  which  only  lacked  a  name.     That  of 
Anti-federalist  was  no  longer  applicable,  for  its  opposi- 
tion to  the  Federal  Union  had  entirely  ceased. 

13.  A  name  wa.j  supplied  by  Jefferson,  the  recog- 
nized leader  of  the  party,  after  the  French  Revolu- 
tion had  fairly  begun  its  course.     That  political  con- 
vulsion had,  for  some  time  after  1789,  the  sympathy  of 
both  Federalists  and  Anti-federalists,  for  it  seemed  the 
direct  outgrowth  of  the  American  Revolution.     But,  as 
its  leveling  objects  became  more  apparent,  the  Feder- 
alists grew  cooler  and  the  Anti-federalists  warmer  to- 
wards it.     The  latter  took  great  pains,  even  by  dress 
and  manners,  to  show  the  keenness  of  their  sympathy 


f6  American  Politics. 

for  the  Republicans  of  France,  and  about  this  tima 
adopted  the  name  Democratic- Republican,  which 
seemed  sufficiently  comprehensive  for  a  full  indication 
of  their  principles.  This  has  always  been  the  official 
party  title.  It  is  now  abbreviated  to  Democratic 
though  the  name  Democrat  was  at  first  used  by  Fed- 
eralists as  one  of  contempt,  and  the  party  called  itself 
Republican,  a  title  which  it  could  hardly  claim  with 
prc.priety,  for  its  tendency  has  always  been  toward  a 
democracy,  as  that  of  its  opponents  has  been  toward  3 
strong  republic.  The  name  Republican,  therefore,  be- 
longs  most  properly  to  its  present  possessors  (1879). 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  party  which  wih 
be  called  Republican  until  about  1828  was  the  party 
which  is  now  called  Democratic. 

14.  The   tendency   toward   Party   Division   was 
shown  even  in  the  Cabinet.     Hamilton  and  Jefferson 
were  influenced  by  personal  antagonism  and  suspicion, 
as  well  as  by  political  opposition.     In  this,  as  in  every- 
thing else,  they  were  the  perfect  representatives  of  their 
parties.     In  Cabinet  meetings  they  were,  in  Jefferson's 
own  words,   "pitted  against   one   another   like  game 
cocks,"  to  the  great  grief  of  the  President,  who  could 
not  see  in  their  wrangling  the  inevitable  operation  of 
political  repulsions,  which  he  would  not  be  able  to  con 
trol  much  longer,  either  !n  the  Cabinet  or  in  the  coun- 
try. 

1 5.  At  the  request  of  both  Federalists  and  Repub- 
licans Washington  consented  to  serve  as  President  a 
second  time,  so  that  only  the  Vice-Presidency  was  left 


I793-]  Presidential  Election.  2} 

as  an  object  of  party  contest.  For  this  office  the  Fed- 
eralists supported  John  Adams,  and  the  Anti-federalisti 
supported  George  Clinton,  of  New  York.  To  nave 
supported  Jefferson  would  have  cost  the  vote  of  Vir- 

inia,  whose  electors  could  not  have  voted  for  Wash- 
,n>zton  and  Jefferson,  both  from  Virginia.  The  Pres- 
idential Election  took  place  November  6th,  1792, 
and  resulted  in  the  success  of  the  Federalists. 

1 6.  Congress  met  November  5th,  1792.     Its  meas- 
Ild  Congress,     ures  had  reference   mainly  to    the 

ad  Session.  raising  and  expenditure  of  the  rev- 
enue, in  regard  to  which  the  Republicans  had  not  yet 
settled  upon  any  united  course  of  action.  The  onl) 
party  contest  of  the  Session  was  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt of  the  Republicans  to  pass  a  vote  of  censure 
upon  their  enemy  Hamilton  for  his  management  of  the 
Treasury,  and  for  his  indignant  and  somewhat  dis- 
courteous language  in  a  message  to  the  House.  In 
February,  1793,  the  electoral  votes  were  counted,  and 
were  found  to  be,  for  George  Washington  132  (each 
of  the  electors  having  given  him  one  vote),  for  John 
Adams  77,  for  George  Clinton  50,  for  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son 4,  and  for  Aaron  Burr  i.  Washington  was 
therefore  declared  elected  President,  and  Adama 
Vice-President.  March  2d,  1793,  Congress  adjourned, 
ind  March  4th,  Washington  and  Adams  were  swora 
into  office. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SECOND    ADMINISTRATION,  1793-1797. 

Qcoige  Washington,  President.  John  Adams,  Vice-President 

Hid  and  IVth  Congresses. 

1.  EARLY  in  April,  1793,  news  was  received   thai 
France  had  declared  war  against   Great   Britain  and 
Holland.     It  excited  the  sympathies  of  the  American 
people  for  their  sister  republic,  even  though  that  repub  • 
lie  was  the  aggressor.     One  of  the  great  parties  spe- 
cially affected  the  leveling  principles  avowed  by  the 
French  Republicans,  and  the  opposite  party  would  not 
have  objected  to  their  limited  success.     There  was  no 
open  war  party  as  yet,  though  many  considered  the 
treaty  (of  1778)  still  in  force,  which  bound  France  ami 
the  United  States  to  offensive  as  well  as  defensive  al  • 
liance.     The  country  was  in  a  position  to  drift  easily 
into  war  as  an  ally  of  France ;  and  many  of  its  citizeiu 
were  certain  to  criticise  severely  any  act  of  their  own 
government  which  seemed  unfriendly  to  the  French  Re- 
public. 

2.  Washington  always  deliberated  slowly  and  calmly 

28 


!793-]        Proclamation  of  Neutrality.  29 

though  he  was  immovable  when  he  had  decided.  He 
consulted  his  Cabinet,  and  by  their  unanimous  advice 
determined,  notwithstanding  the  inevitable  unpopularity 
of  the  act,  to  regard  the  former  treaty  as  nullified  by 
the  change  of  government  in  France,  and  to  issue  his 
Proclamation  of  Neutrality  between  the  French 
kepub?\c  and  her  enemies.  The  proclamation  roused 
intense  anger.  For  the  first  time  the  extreme  Repub- 
lican, who  might  now  almost  be  called  the  French 
party,  assailed  the  President  personally.  He  was  ac- 
cusea  of  being  an  enemy  to  France  and  republican  in- 
stitutions, of  usurping  the  functions  of  Congress  in  the 
decision  and  announcement  of  peace  and  war,  and  of 
setting  at  naught  a  solemn  treaty,  to  whose  observance 
the  faith  of  the  country  was  pledged. 

3.  The  bitterness  of  the  pro-French  newspapers  was 
increased  by  the  arrival  of  Citizen  Genet,  who  had 
been  accredited  by  the  French  Republic  as  Minister  to 
the  United  States.  He  had  reached  Charleston,  S.  C., 
April  8th,  and,  misled  by  the  warmth  of  his  reception,  he 
entered  on  and  persisted  in  a  course  which  would  only 
have  been  pardonable  if  he  had  been  still  on  French 
soil.  He  undertook  to  commission  cruisers  from  Amer- 
ican ports,  which  captured  British  vessels  even  in  Amer 
lean  waters.  He  created  courts  for  the  trial  and  COD 
demnation  of  such  prizes,  and  began  to  raise  money 
and  enlist  men  for  the  service  of  France.  The  British 
agent  complained  of  these  violations  of  neutrality,  and 
Genet  was  informed  by  Jefferson  that  they  must  cease. 
Two  of  his  American  recruits  were  arrested  and  com 


30  American  Politics.  I1 793 

mitted  to  jail.  Against  this  Genet  remonstrated  in  ef 
fensive  language,  and,  making  Philadelphia  his  head 
quarters,  persevered  in  breaking  the  law. 

4.  He  was   encouraged   by  the   so-called    Demo- 
cratic Clubs  which  had  been  formed  by  the  more  vio 
ent  Republicans,  in  imitation  of  the  Jacobin  clubs  of 
France.     They  had  adopted  the  wildest  follies  of  theii 
French  prototypes.     They  had  changed  their  aristo- 
cratic title  of  Mr.  to  that  of  Citizen,  and  their  daughters 
were  r^arried  under  the  name  of  Citess.     They  were 
even  scandalized  by  that  relic  of  European  aristocracy, 
the  spread  eagle  upon  public  papers.     To  Republicans 
of  this  type  the  character  and  past  services  of  Washing- 
ton were  no  bar  to  the  severest  denunciation  of  his  con 
duct  to  Genet  and  the  French  Republic. 

5.  Through  the  Summer  of  1793  the  insolence  of 
Genet  towards  the  President  and  Cabinet  became  still 
more   offensive,  and    his   subordinates   imitated    theii 
chief.     The  French  consul  at  Boston,  with  a  body  of 
marines  from  a  French  war  vessel  in  the  harbor,  res- 
cued a  libeled  vessel  from  the  Unucd  States  Marshal. 
An  American  privateer  under  French  colors  left  Phila- 
delphia in  flat  defiance  of  direct  orders  from  the  Fed- 
eral Government.     French  officers  in  Georgia  began  to 
organize  expeditions  against  the  American  possessions 
of  Spain,  with  which  country  France  was  now  at  war. 
Finally  Chief  Justice  Jay,  and  Senator  King,  of  New 
York,  declared  over  their  signatures  in  a  New  York 
newspaper  that  Genet  had  in  private  declared  his  in 
tention  to  appeal  from  the  Government  to  the  people 


1 793-1  Hostility  to  England.  31 

To  the  astonishment  of  Genet,  v^>n  seems  not  to  havft 
been  aware  of  the  extent  to  which  free  political  discus 
sion  may  harmlessly  be  carried,  this  announcement 
alienated  from  him  all  but  the  most  violent  of  his  former 
supporters.  His  popularity  was  gone.  The  American 
Government  asked  his  recall,  and  until  this  took  place 
in  the  following  winter  his  only  noteworthy  action  was 
his  declaration  that  Chief  Justice  Jay  and  Senator  King 
had  told  a  falsehood. 

6.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1793,  with  a  slight 
Hid  Congress,     Republican  majority  in  the  House, 

ist  Session.  where  F.  A.  Muhlenberg,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, a  Republican,  was  chosen  Speaker.  The 
doubtful  vote,  however,  was  still  so  large  that  there  was 
no  real  party  majority.  The  President's  Proclamation, 
and  his  treatment  of  Genet,  were  approved,  though  nc 
warmly,  in  the  House,  where  there  was  increasing  Hos- 
tility to  England,  provoked  by  England's  systematic 
neglect  of  the  interests  and  feelings  of  the  United 
States. 

7.  England  had  never  accredited  a  Minister  Resi- 
dent to  the  United  States,  and  had  refused  to  carry  out 
those  articles  of  the  Treaty  of  1783  which  bound  her  to 
surrender  her  military  posts  on  United  States  soil,  and 
to  pay  for  slaves  carried  away  by  her  armies.     It  was 
firmly  believed  that  her  agents  had  interfered  to  pre- 
vent treaties  of  peace  with  the  savages  of  the  North- 
West,  and  had  incited  them  to  renewed  attacks  upon 
the  frontier  settlements.     An  unexpected  treaty  of  peace 
between  Portugal  and  Algiers,  which  had  let  loose  the 


32  American  Politics.  LI793 

Algerine  pirates  for  a  warfare  upon  the  Atlantic  against 
unprotected  American  commerce,  was  attributed  to 
English  intervention.  The  impressment  of  American 
seamen,  under  color  of  their  resemblance  to  English- 
men, was  a  growing  grievance.  All  English  ships  ot 
war  had  been  ordered,  on  the  8th  of  June,  1793,  to 
stop  vessels  bound  for  France  with  corn,  and  compel 
them  to  change  their  course  to  an  English  port.  This 
blow  at  American  commerce  with  France  had  been 
supplemented  by  a  further  order  of  November  6th, 
that  all  such  vessels  should  be  seized  and  sent  to  Great 
Britain  for  trial  by  English  courts.  Her  refusal  to 
evacuate  the  Western  posts  was  grounded  on  the  un- 
justifiable neglect  of  the  United  States  to  enforce  that 
article  of  the  Treaty  of  1783  which  provided  for  the 
payment  of  debts  due  to  British  subjects.  For  her 
further  offensive  measures  no  justification  was  offered, 
except  her  sovereign  will.  She  acted  apparently  undei 
the  belief  that  the  United  States  were  the  concealed, 
but  soon  to  be  the  avowed,  ally  of  her  enemy,  an&  thus 
she  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  swell  the  current 
of  anti-English  feeling. 

8.  The  retaliating  orders  and  decrees  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  the  French  Republic  had  already  injured  Amer- 
ican commerce.  In  an  Official  Report  of  December 
i6th  Jefferson  advised  friendly  arrangements  for  their 
cessation,  if  possible,  and,  in  default  of  these,  active  re- 
taliation upon  the  offending  nation.  As  England  was 
more  likely  to  be  the  offender,  the  Republicans  promptly 
adopted  the  suggestion,  and,  January  4th,  1794,  Madi- 


1 794.]  Jay's  Nomination.  33 

son  introduced  resolutions  imposing  prohibitory  duffel 
upon  English  goods.  They  were  d. bated,  at  intervals, 
for  two  months,  but  finally  failed. 

9.  The  Debates  of  this  Session  were  mainly  upon 
commercial  matters.     The  Federalists  wished  to  form 

navy,  and  to  maintain  neutrality  between  England 
rnd  France,  which  was  all  that  England's  course  al- 
lowed them  to  ask.  The  Republican  policy  was  a  mixt- 
ure of  two  opposites.  It  called  for  a  prohibition  of 
trade  with  England,  or,  at  the  least,  for  discriminating 
duties  against  English  imports,  and  yet  opposed  any 
naval  preparation  for  the  war  to  which  such  a  polic) 
must  have  led.  Parties  were  so  evenly  divided,  and 
the  doubtful  vote  changed  sides  so  frequently  that  in 
the  middle  of  April,  1794,  no  decided  result  had  been 
reached. 

10.  An  unlocked  for  step  was  taken  by  the  Presi- 
dent, April  1 6th.     He  nominated  Chief  Justice  Jay 
to  be  Envoy  Extraordinary  to  England,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preserving  peace  by  a  new  treaty.     The  Senate, 
where  the  Federalists  had  a  small  majority,  confirmed 
the  nomination.     The  Republicans  of  the  House,  on 
the  1 8th,  endeavored  to  baulk  the  mission  in  advance 
by  a  resolution  entirely  prohibiting  trade  with  England. 
The  Senate  rejected  the  resolution,  and  Jay  sailed  foi 
England. 

11.  Party  Contests   were  numerous   throughout 
\he  Session.     The  Federalists  succeeded  in  passing  a 
*>ystcm  of  indirect  taxation  to  provide  for  the  increased 
expenses  of  the  Government,  the  Republicans  voting 


34  American  Politics.  r'794 

for  direct  taxes.  A  Federalist  bill  to  prevent  such 
practices  as  Genet's  was  opposed  by  the  Republicans, 
and  bitterly  denounced  by  the  Democratic  clubs,  but 
was  passed  with  some  modifications.  Some  of  the  Re- 
publicans again  attempted,  and  again  without  success,, 
to  pass  resolutions  censuring  Hamilton's  management 
of  the  Treasury.  The  Republicans  had  been  alarmed 
by  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  that  an  action 
brought  by  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  would  lie 
against  a  State,  just  as  against  any  other  corporation. 
At  this  Session,  therefore,  an  Amendment  was  adopted, 
securing  States  against  suit  in  United  States  Courts. 
It  was  afterwards  ratified  by  the  necessary  number  of 
States,  and  became  the  Xlth  Amendment,  which 
has  enabled  so  many  States  to  repudiate  debt  with  im- 
punity. Congress  adjourned  June  gth,  1794.  Genet's 
actions  had  previously  been  disavowed  by  a  new  Rev- 
olutionary Government  in  France,  and  I'auchet  sent  in 
fris  stead. 

12.  Before  Congress  re-assembled  the  so-called 
Whiskey  Insurrection  against  the  enforcement  of 
the  Excise  Law  had  been  suppressed.  It  had  no  po- 
itical  results,  except  as  it  strengthened  Federalism,  by 
Strengthening  popular  sympathy  with  the  Administra- 
tion. It  was  also  one  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the 
Democratic  clubs,  which  Washington  had  publicly  ana 
officially,  though  perhaps  mistakenly,  declared  to  be 
the  instigators  of  the  Insurrection.  They  thus  lost  pop 
ularity,  and  the  overthrow  of  Robespierre  and  the 
French  Jacobin  clubs  was  soon  followed  by  the  igno- 
m  ious  death  of  their  American  imitations. 


1 795.]        Jay's  Treaty  with  England,  35 

13.  Congress  met  November  3d,  1794.     In  January- 
Hid  Congress,     1795,  Hamilton  felt  compelled  to 

ad  Session.  leave  the  Cabinet,  and  resume  the 
practice  of  law  in  New  York.  His  last  official  act 
was  the  arrangement  of  a  plan  of  Internal  Taxation 
which  was  offered  to  Congress,  and  furnished  materia, 
for  debate  throughout  the  Session.  It  was  adopted 
against  the  opposition  of  most  of  the  Republicans. 
Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1795. 

14.  Jay  had  concluded  a  Treaty  with  England, 
which  did  not  satisfy  him,  but  was  the  best  that  he 
could  procure.     It  reached  America  March  7th,  and 
was  sent  to  the  Senate  in  Special  Session  June  8th.     It 
was  ratified  by  the  necessary  two-thirds  majority,  and 
only  awaited  the  signature  of  the  President  to  become 
law.     Popular  curiosity  was  stimulated  by  the  secrecy 
of  the  debates.     When,  on  the  zgth  of  June,  a  Senator 
in  violation  of  his  word  gave  a  partial  copy  of  Jay's 
Treaty  for  publication,  and  it  was  found  that  by  its 
terms  England  was  still  at  liberty  to  impress  American 
seamen,  to  harass  American  commerce,  and  to  shut  it 
out  from  the  West  India  trade,  the  wrath  of  the  Re- 
publicans  rose   to   fever  heat,  and   Federalists   could 
hardly  contrive  an  apology  for  a  surrender  with  which 
they  also  were  generally  dissatisfied.     In  all  the  large 
cities  public  meetings  condemned  the  treaty,  and  called 
upon  the  President  to  withhold  his  signature. 

15.  But  The  President  felt  that  a  treaty  of  some 
kind  was  necessary,  and  that  no  better  one  could  theD 
be  obtained.     He  therefore  signed  it     Hitherto  criti- 


36  American  Politics,  [^795 

cisms  on  Washington's  policy  had  not  been  uncommon, 
but  his  action  in  signing  Jay's  Treaty  brought  out  as- 
persions upon  his  private  character,  which  were  carried 
so  far  that  he  declared  "he  would  rather  be  in  his 
grave  than  in  the  Presidency."  He  was  charged  by 
the  extreme  Republicans  with  usurpation,  treason  to 
his  country,  and  hostility  to  her  interests.  The  con- 
tinued sufferings  of  American  prisoners  in  Algiers  were 
ascribed  to  his  criminal  indifference.  He  was  accused 
of  having  shown  incapacity  during  the  Revolution, 
and  of  having  embezzled  the  public  funds  while  Presi- 
dent. He  was  threatened  with  impeachment,  with 
assassination.  Even  the  honored  epithet  so  long  given 
to  him  was  burlesqued,  and  Washington  was  for  a  time 
known  to  the  Republicans  as  "The  Step-Father  of  his 
Country."  And  yet,  within  a  year,  his  unyielding 
common  sense  was  justified  by  a  revival  of  trade  which 
gained  friends  for  Jay's  Treaty,  even  among  its  formerly 
bitter  opponents. 

16.  Congress  met  December  yth,  1795,  with  a  small 
IVth  Congress,  Federalist  majority  in  the  Senate, 

ist  Session.  and  a  Republican  majority  in  the 
House,  though  even  there  the  Federalists  succeeded  in 
choosing  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  Speaker 
The  Senate,  in  reply  to  the  President's  Message,  echoed 
his  words,  but  the  Republican  majority  in  the  House, 
in  order  to  censure  the  President  indirectly,  voted  down 
the  first  sentence  of  their  committee's  draft  of  a  reply, 
including  an  expression  of  "their  confidence  in  th« 
President,  and  their  approval  of  his  course." 


1796.}  Debates  on  Jay's  Treaty.  3J 

17.  March  ist,  1796,  the  Piesident  sent  to  Congress 
ft  copy  of  his  proclamation,  announcing  to  the  people 
that  the  treaty  with  England,  having  been  ratified  b} 
the  Senate  and  signed  by  the  President,  had  become 
aw      In  the  House  this  caused  dissatisfaction,  and, 

against  the  wishes  of  some  of  the  moderate  Republic- 
ans, a  reso.ation  was  passed,  March  2d,  calling  upon 
the  President  to  send  to  the  House  all  papers  relating 
to  Jay's  Treaty.  The  President  refused  to  do  so, 
giving  as  his  reason  that  the  House  was  not  a  part  of 
the  treaty-making  power  of  the  Government.  The 
House  retorted  by  another  resolution  declaring  its 
right  to  decide  on  the  necessity  of  any  treaty  by  which 
public  money  was  to  be  expended. 

1 8.  From  the  Federalist  side  of  the  House  a  resolu- 
tion was  then  offered,  declaring  that  provision  ought 
to  be  made  by  law  for  carrying  the  treaty  into  effect. 
The   Debate  upon  this  resolution,  in  which  Fisher 
Ames,  of   Massachusetts,  led  the   Federalists,  lasted 
until  April  2gth.      By  that  time  public  opinion  had 
pronounced  in  favor  of  the  treaty  too  emphatically  to 
be  disregarded  just  before  a  Presidential  election.     The 
Republican  majority  yielded  and  the  resolution  was 
passed.     The  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  Session 
were  taken  up  by  debates  upon  the  revenue,  in  which 
an  increase  of  duties  upon  imports  was  urged  by  the 
Federalists,  but  successfully  opposed  by  the  Republic- 
ans.    Congress  adjourned  June  ist,  1796.      On  that 
day  Tennessee,  formerly  a  part  of  North  Carolina 
became  n  State  of  the  Union. 


38  American  Politics. 

19.  During  the  Summer  of  1796  preparations  were 
begun,  and  electors  were  nominated  for  the  Presiden- 
tial election  in    November.      Washington's   hold  was 
stronger  upon  the  people  than  upon  the  politicians, 
and  he  was  importuned  to  accept  a  third  term  of  office. 
Electors  nominated  by  both  parties  were  called  upon 
to  promise  that,  if  elected,  their  first  votes  should  be 
given  for  Washington.     His  decision  to  retire  to  private 
life  could  not  be  altered,  but  he  decided  to  publish  it 
in  a  form  which  should  always  remain  as  his  answer  to 
the  attacks  upon  him,  which  had  been  made,  to  use 
nis  own  words,  "  in  terms  so  exaggerated  and  indecent 
as  could  scarcely  be  applied  to  a  Nero,  a  notorious 
defaulter,  or  even  to  a  common  pickpocket." 

20.  Washington's  Fare-well  Address  to  the 
American  people  is  dated  September  iyth,  1796.     It 
consists  of  a  modest  estimate  of  his  own  services  to 
the  new  Government,  a  congratulation  that  the  cir- 
cumstances which  gave  a  temporary  value  to  those 
services  were  past,  an  appeal  to  the  people  to  preserve 
intact  the  unity  of  the  Government,  to  put  down  party 
spirit,  and  to   make   religion,  education,  and   public 
good   faith   the   basis  of   government,  and,  lastly,  a 
needed  warning  against  the  admission  of  any  foreign 
influence  upon  American  councils.     It  can  hardly  be 
read  without   renewing   the   conviction   that   George 
Washington  was  an  unconscious  but  sincere  Federalist, 
ihough  hardly  a  fair  critic  of  party  spirit,  a  modes! 
Christian,  a  devoted  lover  of  country,  and  a  great,  un- 
«ielfish  man. 


1796-}  Pi  isidcntial  Election.  39 

21.  The  Farewell  Address  was  the  preliminary  to 
the  first  contested  Presidential  Election.  The 
Constitution  had  fairly  shown  its  merits.  Its  continued 
existence  was  assured,  and  there  was  no  longer  any 
necessity  for  keeping  the  political  peace  between  the 
two  great  parties.  No  formal  nominations  were  made 
but  it  was  understood  that  the  Republican  elector? 
would  cast  their  votes  for  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  Aaron  Burr,  of  New  York,  and  the  Federal- 
ist electors  for  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  and 
Thomas  Pinckney,  of  Maryland.  Hamilton's  ardent 
political  zeal  had  made  so  many  enemies  that  he  was 
not  considered  a  suitable  candidate.  The  Federalists 
claimed  support  as  the  authors  of  the  Government, 
the  friends  of  neutrality,  peace,  and  prosperity,  and 
the  direct  inheritors  of  Washington's  policy.  The 
Republicans  claimed  to  be  the  friends  of  liberty  ana 
the  rights  of  man,  the  advocates  of  economy  and  of 
the  rights  of  the  States,  and  refused  to  recognize  theii 
opponents  as  the  inheritors  of  any  policy  but  that  of 
England.  The  Presidential  election  took  place  in 
November,  1796,*  and  the  French  Minister  undertook 
lo  influence  it  by  an  extraordinary  "Address  to  the 
Ymerican  People,"  in  which  he  hinted  that  his  Govern- 
ment would  cease  intercourse  with  the  United  States 
unless  the  Republicans  were  successful.  Federalist 
electors  were  chosen  in  most  of  the  Northern  States, 
while  the  Southern  States,  with  the  exception  of  Mary- 

1  Until  about  1824-1828  electors  were  generally  chosen,  not  directly  by  th« 
people,  but  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  various  States. 


40  American  Politics.  [*797 

land,  generally  chose  Republicans.     The  result  was  a 
slight  Federalist  majority. 

22.  Congress  met  December  5th,  1796,  but  its  pro- 
IVth  Congress,     ceedings   gave  little  opportunity 

ad  Session.  for  party  contest.  In  the  House 
an  attempt  was  made  to  renew  the  last  year's  expres 
sion  of  want  of  confidence  in  Washington,  but  it  was 
defeated.  In  February,  1797,  the  electoral  votes  were 
counted,  and  were  found  to  be,  for  John  Adams  71,  for 
Thomas  Jefferson  68,  for  Thomas  Pinckney  59,  for 
Aaron  Burr  30,  and  the  rest  scattering.1  John  Adams 
was  therefore  declared  to  be  elected  President,  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  Vice-President.  The  Executive 
was  thus  Federalist,  with  a  possibility  of  a  Republican 
succession,  in  case  of  the  death,  disability,  or  impeach- 
ment and  removal  of  the  President.  It  was  plain  that 
a  mode  of  election  which  offered  so  much  temptation 
to  the  cupidity  of  party  or  the  caprice  of  fortune  was 
faulty,  and  could  not  endure.  A  further  experience  ol 
its  danger,  however,  was  needed  to  enforce  its  amend- 
ment. Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1797.  Marcfc 
4th  Adams  and  Jefferson  were  sworn  into  office. 

*  Two  electors  obstinately  voted  for  George  Washington 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THIRD  ADMINISTRATION, 


Jpfin  Adams,  President.  Thomas  Jeffer  sen,  Vice-Presid«m«, 

Vth  and  Vlth  Congresses. 

i.  THE  beginning  of  Adams's  Administration  was 
marked  by  a  more  open  manifestation  of  bad  feeling  by 
the  French  Republic,  which  was  ascribed  by  the 
Federalists  to  the  anger  of  the  French  Directory  on 
account  of  the  Republican  defeat,  and  by  the  Repub- 
licans to  the  anxiety  of  two  successive  Federalist  Ad- 
ministrations to  be  in  close  dependence  upon  England. 
In  1797,  Monroe,  an  ardent  Republican,  who  had  been 
Minister  to  France,  was  recalled,  and  C.  C.  Pinckney 
was  sent  in  his  place.  At  Monroe's  departure  from 
Paris  the  French  Directory  announced,  in  studied  terms 
:)f  affection  for  the  American  people  and  of  contempt 
for  the  American  Government,  their  intention  to  re- 
ceive no  more  American  Ministers  until  their  grievances 
were  redressed.  Prominent  among  these  grievances 
was  Jay's  Treaty.  At  the  same  time  Pinckney  was  or- 
dered to  quit  the  territory  of  France  at  once. 


42  American  Politics.  LI797 

2.  Upon  receipt  of  this  news  the  President  hastilj 
Vth    Congress,     called  an  Extra  Session  of  Con- 
Extra  Session,     gress  for  the  i5th  of  May.     Both 
branches  had  Federalist  majorities,  and  Jonathan  Day- 
ton, of  New  Jersey,  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House 
The  main  business  of  the  Session  was  to  listen  to  ai 
Address  of  the  President  in  which  he  announced 
his  intention  to  send  three  envoys  to  France,  as  a  last 
effort  to  obtain  peace.     Many  of  the  Republicans  con- 
sidered the  whole  trouble  to  be  the  result  of  Federalist 
intrigues,  but  a  majority  of  both  Houses  approved  the 
President's   course.      Congress  adjourned  July   loth, 
1797,  and  the  envoys  soon  after  departed  for  France. 
Through  the  Summer  of  1797  parties  remained  as  be 
fore,  each  accusing  the  other,  perhaps  with  equal  jus- 
tice, of  a  willingness  to  sacrifice  the  interests  of  Amer- 
ica to  those  of  a  foreign  country.     A  foreign  traveler 
about  this  time  said  that  there  seemed  to  be  in  Amer- 
ica many  English,  many  French,  but  very  few  Ameri- 
cans. 

3.  The  envoys  to   France,  after  patiently  enduring 
for  months  a  treatment  unworthy  the  embassadors  of  a 
free   people,  including  a  demand   for  a  bribe  to  the 
French  Directory,  and  a.  loan  to  the  French  Republic, 
as  preliminaries  to  any  negotiation,  received  peremp 
toiy  orders  to  quit   France,  and  returned  with  empty 
hands.    Their  mission  is  frequently  called  The  X.  Y.Z. 
Mission,  from  the  initials  used  by  the  agents  who  de- 
mandsd  the  bribes.     In  the  mean  time  French  attacks 
on   American   commerce,  which    had    hitherto   been 


1798.]  The  X.  Y.Z.  Mission.  43 

cloaked  to  some  extent  by  a  pretense  of  respect  for  in- 
ternational law,  had  now  become  an  open  warfare 
American  shipping  papers  were  a  sufficient  warrant  foi 
the  capture  and  condemnation  of  the  vessels  which  car- 
lied  them. 

4.  Congress  met  November  i3th,  1797.   'At  first  the 
Vth   Congress,     Republican  disposition  to  tolerate 

ist  Session.  almost  any  treatment  from  France 
was  continued,  and  early  in  1798  the  House  voted  down 
a  proposition  to  arm  American  vessels.  April  8th  the 
Senate  voted  to  publish  the  X.Y.Z.  letters,  and  the  dis 
patches  of  the  envoys.  To  England  they  seemed  of 
such  importance  that  they  were  sent  everywhere  in 
Europe  to  excite  feeling  against  France.  In  America 
one  burst  of  indignation  from  the  Federalists  converted 
many  of  the  Republicans,  and  silenced  the  rest. 
"  Millions  for  defense ;  not  one  cent  for  tribute "  be- 
came a  rallying  cry,  in  and  out  of  Congress. 

5.  Under  the  influence  of  the  War  Spirit  a  number 
of  acts  were  passed  to  place  the  nation  in  readiness  for 
hostilities.     A  provisional  army  was  ordered,  of  which 
Washington   was    commissioned    Lieutenant-General. 
American  men-of-war  were  ordered  to  seize  any  French 
vessels  which  should  commit  depredations  on  Ameri- 
:an    commerce.     Intercourse   with   France   was   sus- 
pended.    The  treaties  with  France  were  declared  no 
longer  binding  upon  the  United  States,  and  authority 
was  given  to  the  President  to  issue  letters  of  marque 
and  reprisal.     So  far,  the  acts  passed  were  only  the 
natural  evidences  of  a  cition's  outraged  dignity.     But 


44  American  Politics.' 

the  Fedei  alists,  intoxicated  by  the  possession  of  unre- 
strained power,  and  hurried  on  by  an  instinctive  pas- 
sion for  strong  government,  proceeded  to  force  through 
two  acts  which  were  well  calculated  to  convince  the 
popular  mind  of  their  disregard  for  the  Constitution, 
They  seem,  indeed,  to  have  been  in  the  end  the  death 
warrant  of  the  Federal  party. 

6.  June  25th  the  so-called  Alien  Law  was  passed. 
It  authorized  the  President  to  order  any  alien  whom  he 
should  judge  to  be  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  liber- 
ties of  America  to  depart  from  the  United  States,  and 
made  provision  for  the  fining  and  imprisonment  of  such 
aliens  as  should  refuse  to  obey  the  President's  order 
July  1 4th  the  so-called  Sedition  Law  was  passed. 
It  imposed  a  heavy  fine  and  imprisonment  upon  such 
as  should  combine  or  conspire  together  to  oppose  any 
measure  of  Government,  and  upon  such  as  should  ut- 
ter any  false,  scandalous,  or  malicious  writing  against 
the  Government,  Congress,  or  President  of  the  United 
States.     This  act  was  to  remain  in  force  until  March 
3d,  1801.     Congress  adjourned  July  i6th,  1798. 

7.  These  two  tremendous  statutes  were  such  a  stretch 
of  pow°r  as  had  not  been  ventured  upon  since  the 
Revolution.     Without  them,  the  open  attempts  of  the 
French  Directory  to  dictate  n  government  and  policy  to 
the  United  States,  their  discriminating  kindness  to  the 
Republican  member  of  the  mission  to  France,  and  the 
patriotic  and  successful  stand  taken  by  the  Federalist 
Administration,  would  almost  have   insured  the   gov- 
ernment to  the  Federal  party  for  the  future      It  wat 


1798.]          Alien  and  Sedition  Laws.  45 

evident  that  the  Republicans  believed  thst  these  twa 
statutes  were  aimed  a*  them  as  a  party,  and  were  un- 
constitutional and  in  violation  of  the  1st  Amendment, 
which  prohibited  Congress  from  passing  any  law  tc 
abridge  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press.  And  it 
should  have  been  evident  to  the  Federalist  leaders  tkat, 
when  the  war  feeling  should  subside,  popular  opinion 
would  incline  to  the  Republican  view,  unless  the  stat- 
utes were  repealed  as  soon  as  the  necessity  for  them 
was  past. 

8.  It  will  be  seen  that,  during  the  next  year,  France 
denied  any  knowledge  of  the  agents  who  had  demanded 
bribes,  and  hastened  to  conclude  a  peace.  But,  though 
preparations  for  war  were  then  at  an  end,  the  Federal- 
ists persisted  in  enforcing  prosecutions  under  the  Alien 
and  Sedition  Laws,  even  in  the  doubtful  States,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey.  Though  this 
excited  public  resentment,  it  came  too  late  to  influence 
the  election  for  members  of  the  Vlth  Congress,  in 
which  the  Federalists,  by  the  help  of  the  war  feeling, 
were  completely  successful.  Seeing  no  hope  of  pres- 
ent success  in  Congress,  the  Republican  leaders  deter- 
mined, if  possible,  to  entrench  themselves  in  the  State 
Legislatures,  and,  through  them,  to  protest  against 
measures  which  they  were  unable  to  resist.  To  this  end 
a  series  of  resolutions,  drawn  up  by  Jefferson,  was 
adopted  by  th?  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  and  a  similar 
series,  drawn  up  by  Madison,  was  adopted  by  the  Leg- 
islature of  Virginia.  These  are  known  as  the  Ken- 
tuckyt  and  the  Virginia,  Resolutions  of  1798 


46  American  Politics.  [1798 

They  are  interesting  as  the  first  authorized  proclama 
tion  of  the  Strict  Constructionist  party,  though  allow 
ance  must  be  made  for  the  excited  state  of  political  feel- 
ing at  the  time  of  their  passage. 

9.  The  Virginia  Resolutions  declared  that  the 
Constitution  was  a  compact  by  which  the  States  haj 
surrendered  only  a  limited  portion  of  their  powers ;  that 
whenever  the  Federal  Government  undertook  to  step 
over  the  boundary  of  its  delegated  authority  it  was  the 
right  and  the  duty  of  the  States  to  interpose,  and  maintain 
the  rights  which  they  had  reserved  to  themselves ;  that 
the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  were  an  usurpation  by  the 
Federal  Government  of  powers  not  granted  to  it,  since 
the  abridgment  of  liberty  of  speech  or  of  the  press  had 
been  expressly  forbidden  by  the  Constitution ;  that  the 
State  of  Virginia  solemnly  declaied  those  laws  to  be 
unconstitutional,  and  appealed  to  the  other  States  to 
join  in  that  declaration  •  and  that  her  Governor  should 
be  instructed  to  transmit  copies  of  these  resolutions  to 
the    Governors    of   other    States,   to    be    laid   before 
their  Legislatures.     The  response  from  other  States  was 
unfavorable,  and  Virginia  repeated  her  resolutions  the 
next  year,  1799. 

10.  The  Kentucky  Resolutions  were  to  the  same 
general  effect  as  those  of  Virginia,  but  with  the  addi- 
tional declaration  that  the  States  were  one  party  to  the 
compact,  and  the  Federal  Government  was  the  other, 
and  that  each  party  must  be  the  judge  of  infractions  of 
the  agreement,  and  of  the  mode  and  measure  of  re- 
dress.    The  next  year  the  Kentucky  Resolutions  of 


1798.]  Resolutions  of  1798.  47 

1799  were  passed.  They  declared  "nullification"  to  be 
"  the  rightful  remedy  ;"  but,  as  they  announced  at  the 
same  time  that  the  commonwealth  "  bowed  to  the  laws 
of  the  Union,"  while  solemnly  protesting  against  the 
obnoxious  laws,  it  is  apparent  that  they  had  in  view  no 
such  "  nullification  "  as  that  attempted  by  South  Caro- 
lina in  1832. 1  The  New  England  opposition  to  the  Em- 
bargo in  1808  2  was  a  fair  example  of  the  first  idea 
of  "  nullification  " — a  combination  of  a  State  legisla- 
tive, executive,  and  judiciary  to  impede  stubbornly,  but 
peaceably,  the  execution  of  an  unconstitutional  law. 

IT.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1798,  with  a  con- 
Vth  Congress,  tinued  Federalist  majority.  Wai 

2d  Session.  against  France  had  not  beer 
formally  declared,  but  a  species  of  warfare  existed 
upon  the  ocean,  in  which  American  privateers,  armed 
merchantmen,  and  even  ships  of  war  engaged  in  con- 
flicts with  French  vessels.  Both  parties  agreed  in 
voting  an  increase  of  the  navy,  but  an  increase  of 
the  army  was  earnestly  opposed  by  the  Republicans, 
who  believed  that  this  and  similar  warlike  measures 
were  only  urged  by  the  Federalists  from  a  desire 
for  party  aggrandizement  by  providing  commissions 
or  their  party  leaders.  The  President  seems  to 
have  become  at  least  a  partial  convert  to  this  view 
for  in  February,  1799,  without  consulting  his  Cabinet, 
and  in  spite  of  his  expressed  determination  to  send  no 
more  ministers  to  France  until  assured  of  a  friendly  re- 
ception, he  suddenly  appointed  three  envoys  to  thai 

1  See  p.  112.  *  See  pp.  67,  74. 


48  American  Politics.  f!799 

country.  Two  of  the  Cabinet  protested  against  this 
action  of  che  President.  Their  protest  was  sustained  by 
leading  Federalists  throughout  the  country,  and  the 
President  began  to  lose,  to  some  degree,  the  support  of 
the  party  which  had  elected  him.  Congress  adjourne( 
March  3d,  1799. 

12.  The  difficulties  of  the  Federalists  were  now  in- 
creased by  an  evident  division  between  Hamilton,  who 
was  the  real  leader  of  the  party,  and  Adams,  who  was 
its  nominal  head.     No  open  quarrel  had  as  yet  taken 
place.      But  when   the  envoys   to  France,  who  had 
waited  until  November  for  assurances  of  a  friendly  re- 
ception, were  ordered  to  depart  by  the  President,  again 
without  consulting  his  Cabinet,  his  apparent  eagerness 
for  peace  and  distrust  of  Hamilton  widened  the  breach 
between  them.     The  envoys  were  successful  in  arrang- 
ing a  treaty  with  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who  was  then 
at  the  head  of  the  French  Directory. 

13.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1799,  with  a  strong- 
Vlth  Congress,     er  Federalist  majority.     Theodore 

ist  Session.  Sedgwick,  of  Massachusetts,  a 
Federalist,  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House.  There 
was  little  party  contest  at  this  Session.  The  Federalist 
majoiity  had  been  chosen  during  the  war  fever,  im- 
mediately after  the  ignominious  return  of  the  envoys  tc 
France,  and  neither  represented  nor  felt  the  undercur- 
rent of  irritation  which  the  continued  enforcement  of 
The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  was  increasing.  The 
Republican  minority  were  kept  in  check,  through  theii 
leaders,  by  Jefferson,  who  preferred  to  allow  the  populai 


l8oo.]  Presidential  Election.  49 

rxcitement  to  work  until  the  Presidential  election  of 
1800.  During  this  Session  caucuses  of  Members  ol 
Congress  nominated  Presidential  candidates.1  The 
Federalist  candidates  were  John  Adams,  of  Massachu 
setts,  and  C.  C.  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  and  the 
Republican  candidates  were  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Vir> 
ginia,  and  Aaron  Burr,  of  New  York.  Congress  ad- 
journed  May  i4th,  1800. 

14.  The  first  important  election  took  place  in  New 
York,  April  28th,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  Re- 
publican  Legislature,  by  whom  electors  were  to  be 
chosen.     At  this  first  token  of  Federalist  Defeat  the 
slumbering  animosities  of  the  party  broke  forth.     The 
President  dismissed  a  part  of  his  Cabinet,  consisting  of 
Hamilton's  friends,  whom  he  called  a  "British  faction." 
Hamilton  printed  a  severe  attack  upon  the  President, 
and   endeavored  to   make   arrangements    for    giving 
Pinckney  a  majority  of  Federalist   electors,  that   he 
might  be  chosen  President,  and  Adams  Vice- President. 
The  Presidential  Election  took  place  in  November 
1800.     In  spite  of  Federalist  divisions  the  result  was 
doubtful  until  the  vote  of  South  Carolina  turned  the 
scale,  and  gave  the  Republican  electors  a  majority. 

15.  Congress  met  in  the  new  Federal  city  of  Wash 
Vlth   Congress,     mgton,    November    lyth,    1800 

ad  Session.  The  Session  was  mainly  occupied 
by  The  Undecided  Presidential  Election,  caused 
by  the  defective  provisions  of  the  Constitution.  In 
February,  1801,  the  electoral  votes  were  counted,  and 

*  Nominating  Convention*  were  not  used  until  i8)3. 

4 


50  American  Politics  [1801 

were  found  to  be,  for  Jefferson  73,  fcr  Burr  73,  foi 
Adams  65,  for  Pinckney  64,  and  for  John  Jay  i 
There  was  no  name  highest  on  the  list.  Consequently 
xhere  was  no  choice,  and  an  election  was  to  be  made 
by  the  House  of  Representatives  between  the  two 
highest  candidates,  each  State  having  one  vote.  It  is 
impossible  to  say  why  the  Republican  leaders,  or 
electors,  did  not  foresee  this  mischance.  The  differ- 
ence of  one  vote  between  Adams  and  Pinckney  would 
seem  to  show  that  at  least  one  Federalist  elector  was 
more  acute,  for  South  Carolina's  vote  would  have 
seated  both  the  Federalist  candidates  without  trouble. 

1 6.  The  House  was  Federalist,  but  was  restricted  to 
a  choice  between  two  Republicans.  Of  the  two,  many 
Federalists  preferred  Burr,  partly  to  keep  the  Presi- 
dency from  their  most  dangerous  enemy,  Jefferson,  and 
partly  to  baulk  the  evident  intention  of  the  Repub- 
licans. The  balloting  began  February  nth.  Eight 
States  voted  for  Jefferson,  six  for  Burr,  and  two  weie 
without  votes  because  of  equal  division  among  their 
members.  There  being  sixteen  States  there  was  even 
yet  No  Election.  Balloting  continued  with  the  same 
result  for  six  days,  and  the  Federalist  majority  was 
charged  with  a  design  to  prolong  the  balloting  in  this 
way  until  March  4th,  the  day  of  inauguration,  and  then 
to  make  Chief  Justice  Jay  provisional  President.  The 
charge  was  denied  by  the  Federalists.  Fortunately  the 
trouble  came  to  an  end  February  i7th,  when  ten  States 
voted  for  Jefferson,  four  for  Burr,  and  two  blank. 
Jefferson  was  then  declared  elected  President,  and 


i8oi.]  Election  by  the  House.  51 

Burr  Vice-President.  Congress  adjourned  March  3d 
1 80 1,  and  March  4th  Jefferson  and  Burr  were  swon 
into  office 


CHAPTER  V. 

FOURTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1801-1805. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  President.  Aaron  Burr,  Vice-Presideat 

Vllth  and  VHIth  Congresses. 

i.  Jefferson's  Election  completed  the  first  great 
political  revolution  in  the  United  States  since  1787, 
except  that  the  Federalists  still  had  control  of  the  Ju- 
diciary. The  new  President's  first  Inaugural  Message 
announced  the  future  policy  of  the  Republican  party 
to  be  the  careful  fostering  of  the  State  governments,  the 
restriction  of  the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government  to 
their  lowest  constitutional  limit,  the  immediate  pay- 
ment of  the  public  debt,  and  the  reduction  of  the  army, 
the  navy,  the  taxes,  and  the  duties  on  imports,  to  the 
.owest  available  point.  The  Republicans  were  op- 
posed to  any  currency  but  gold  and  silver,  and  some 
of  their  leaders  even  desired  an  Vmendment  to  the 
Constitution  denying  to  the  Federal  Government  the 
power  of  borrowing  money,  believing  that  a  yearly 
direct  tax  for  the  current  expenses  of  the  Government 
would  compel  the  people  to  decide  more  carefully  on 

C2 


1 80 1 .  ]  State  cf  Parties.  5  J 

questions  of  peace,  war,  and  finance.  Upon  most  of 
the  articles  of  Republican  belief,  the  Federalists 
were  more  willing  to  give  latitude  and  power  to  the 
Federal  Government.  But  the  hatred  of  the  parties 
for  eacn  other  was  a  litth'  abated,  though  the  Federal- 
ists still  called  their  opponents  Democrats  and  Jacobins, 
while  the  Republicans  retorted  with  the  name  of  "  Black- 
Cockade  Federalist,"  in  allusion  to  the  party  badge 
worn  by  them  in  the  time  of  the  war  fever  of  1798. 

2.  The  Anticipations  of  the  Federalists  for  the 
fulure  of  the  country  under  Republican  rule  were  nat- 
urally gloomy.     The  Federal  party  probably  contained 
the  larger  portion  of  the  intellect,  wealth,  and  culture 
of  the  country,  and,  in  their  honest  opinion,  the  Gov- 
ernment was  now  in  bad  hands.     The  President  was 
"  an  atheist  in  religion,  and  a  fanatic  in  politics,"  and 
the  Vice-President  was  only  more  tolerable  because  less 
known.     The  party  which  supported  them  was  com- 
posed  of   disorganizers,  Jacobins,  and   revolutionists. 
The  President  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  act  so  moder- 
ately as  to  give  Federalist   apprehensions   no  darker 
color,  although  he  was  determined  to  undo,  so  far  as 
possible,  the  centralizing  measures  of  the  last  Adminis- 
tration.    With  this  view  he  took  the  first  opportunity 
after  entering  office,  to  issue  Executive  pardons  to  those 
who  were   imprisoned  under  the  Alien  and  Sedition 
Laws. 

3.  A  troublesome  problem  occupied  the  summer  of 
1 80 1.     The  Republic.' ns  were  clamorous  for  Offices, 
and  none  were  vacant      They  therefore  demanded  that 


54  American  Politics.  [i8oi> 

Federalist  office-holders  should  be  removed  to  make 
room  for  Republican  successors.  The  President  fol- 
lowed the  course  he  had  previously  marked  out,  re« 
moving  no  person  merely  for  holding  Federalist  opin- 
ons,  but  removing  all  office-holders  who  had  used  their 
official  power  for  party  purposes,  or  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed Dy  President  Adams  after  the  result  of  the  last 
election  had  become  known.  The  supply  of  offices 
thus  placed  at  his  disposal  satisfied  the  most  pressing 
demands,  and  for  the  future  he  trusted  to  the  natural 
decrease  in  the  ranks  of  the  office-holders,  of  whom, 
however,  he  complained  that  "  few  died,  and  none  re- 
signed." 

4.  Congress  met  December  yth,  1801,  with  a  small 
Vllth  Congress,     Republican    majority    in    both 

ist  Session.  branches.  In  the  House  Na- 
thaniel Macon,  of  North  Carolina,  a  Republican,  was 
chosen  Speaker.  Instead  of  the  President's  address  in 
person  to  both  Houses  of  Congress,  which  had  hitherto 
been  the  rule,  the  President  sent  a  written  Message, 
as  more  suited  to  republican  simplicity,  and  succeeding 
Presidents  have  followed  the  example.  In  the  debates 
which  followed  the  Message  the  Republicans  advo- 
cated and  carried  reductions  in  the  army,  the  navy, 
taxes  and  duties.  Instead  of  the  fourteen  years'  resi 
dence  necessary  for  naturalization  under  a  Federalist 
law,  five  yeais  were  substituted. 

5.  The  remainder  of  the  Session  was  occupied   by 
debate  on  a  proposed  repeal  of  a  Judiciary  Law 
passed  at  the  last  Session,  by  which  twenty-four  new 


1802.]       Repeal  of  the  Judiciary  Law.  55 

Federal  Courts  had  been  erected,  with  the  proper  com 
plement  of  officers  to  each.  The  Republicans  claimed 
that  there  had  not  been  business  enough  to  occupy  the 
United  States  Courts  already  in  existence;  that  tha 
bill  had  been  hastily  drawn  up  and  passed,  after  the 
Republican  success  in  the  last  election  had  been  as 
sured,  only  in  order  to  provide  offices  for  Federalist 
leaders,  who  were  about  to  be  driven  from  power ;  and 
that  President.  Adams  had  been  kept  busy  until  mid- 
night of  his  last  day  of  office  in  signing  commissions  for 
the  judges.  All  this  seemed  to  the  Republicans  a  gross 
abuse  of  power,  and  they  were  determined  to  oust  the 
"  midnight  judges  "  by  repealing  the  law.  The  Con- 
stitution seemed  plainly  to  prohibit  any  such  repeal,  and 
the  existence  of  the  Republican  party  was  based  upon 
a  strict  construction  of  the  Constitution.  Party  neces- 
sities and  vindictiveness,  however,  soon  found  availa- 
ble interpretations  for  the  Constitution,  and  the  law  was 
repealed.  The  Federal  party,  which  had  founded  and 
nurtured  the  Federal  Government,  was  thus  driven 
from  its  last  strong  hold  in  it,  and  lost  forever  the  con- 
trol of  national  politics,  though  it  retained  its  power  in 
New  England  for  about  ten  years  afterward.  Congress 
Adjourned  May  3d,  1802. 

6.  In  the  Spring  of  1802  news  came  from  Franca 
which  did  much  to  cool  the  pro-French  partizanship 
of  even  the  most  zealous  Republicans.  France  had 
acquired  from  Spain  the  vast  territory  known  as  Louis- 
iana, stretching  from  the  mouth  to  the  head  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  indefinitely  Westward  toward  the  Pa- 


56  American  Politics.  [1802 

cific.  The  United  States  were  thus  to  be  hemmed  in 
by  one  of  the  great  European  belligerents  on  the  North, 
and  by  another  on  the  South  and  West,  and  the  poli- 
cies and  alliances  of  Europe  were  to  be  extended  to 
the  Western  Continent.  The  President  at  once  di- 
rected the  American  Minister  at  Paris  to  lay  the  strong- 
est remonstrances  before  the  French  Emperor.  He 
was  ordered  to  declare  that,  while  the  present  posses- 
sion of  Louisiana  by  a  weak  nation  like  Spain  would  be 
tolerated,  its  transfer  to  a  strong,  active,  colonizing 
power  like  France  would  immediately  drive  the  United 
States  into  close  alliance  with  England,  and  that,  in 
short,  the  foreign  possessor  of  New  Orleans  must  be 
the  enemy  of  the  United  States. 

7.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1802.  The  Pres- 
Vllth  Congress,  ident's  Message  stated  that 

2d  Session.  $8,000,000  of  the  public  debt  had 
been  paid  during  the  year,  and  called  attention  to 
Spain's  unfriendly  action  in  closing  New  Orleans,  which 
she  still  controlled,  against  American  commerce.  Reso- 
lutions condemning  Spain's  conduct  were  introduced 
and  passed  by  the  Republicans.  A  <  onstitutional 
Amendment  changing  the  mode  of  the  Presidential 
election  was  debated,  but  did  not  obtain  the  necessaiy 
two-thirds  vote.  Some  of  the  Republicans  made  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  abolish  the  Mint,  as  a  useless 
piece  of  expense,  and  the  Federalists  were  equally  un- 
successful in  attempting  to  fasten  a  charge  of  mis- 
management upon  the  Treasury.  The  rest  of  the 
Session  was  spent  in  considering  the  Yazoo  Frauds 


1802.]  Ohio. — Louisiana.  57 

which  had  no  party  interest.     Congress  adjourned 
March  30!,  1803. 

8.  Ohio  had  become  a  State  of  the  Union  Novem- 
ber ZQth,  1802.      It  was  formed  from  the  North-VVest 
Territory,  which  had  been  organized  by  an  ordinance 
of  July  1 3th.  1 787.    Article  VI  of  this  ordinance  reads : 
"  There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servi- 
tude in  the  said  Territory,  otherwise  than  in  the  pun- 
ishment of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been 
duly  convicted. "   The  ordinance  of  1 78  7  is  noteworthy 
as  an  exercise  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confederacy  of 
the  right  to  exclude  Slavery  from  the  Territories.1 

9.  James  Monroe  had  been  sent  to  France  to 
buy  Florida  and  the  Lland  of  Orleans.     France  was 
preparing  for  renewed  war  with  Great  Britain  and  was 
in  need  of  money.     Monroe  therefore  transcended  his 
instructions,  and  made  a  bargain  for  all  Louisiana  for 
$15,000,000.     The  President  at  once  agreed  to  it 
though  he  believed  that  the  Constitution  gave  the  Fed- 
eral Government  no  power  to  purchase  foreign  teiri- 
tory  and  make  it  a  part  of  the  Union.     But  he  likened 
his  action  to  that  of  a  guardian  who  makes  an  unau- 
thorized purchase  for  the  benefit  of  his  ward,  trusting 
that  the  latter  will  afterward  ratify  it.     In  this  instance 
the  ratification  was  prepared  as  an  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution,  but  was  never  offered,  the  President's 

1  It  wiil  be  found  that  the  language  of  this  ordinance  was  copied  in  the  ef- 
forts mad«  in  1819  (Missouri),  1846  (Wilmot  Proviso),  and  1865  (Xlllth 
Amendment),  to  assert  and  maintain  for  the  Federal  Congress  under  the  Con- 
stitution this  power  of  regufcuing  and  abolishing  Slavery  in  the  Territories  of 
the  United  States,  and  finally,  in  the  States,  as  the  result  of  civil  war. 


58  American  Politics. 

action  having  been  in  effect  ratified  by  goneral  ac- 
quiescence in  it,  and  imitated  without  question  in  sev- 
eral instances  afterward. 

10.  Congress  met  October  lyth,  1803,  having  beer 
Vlllth  Congress,     called  to  an  early  session  by  th* 

ist  Session.  President  that  there  might  be 

more  time  for  discussing  the  French  Treaty.  Both 
branches  had  Republican  majorities,  and  in  the  House 
Nathaniel  Macon  was  again  chosen  Speaker.  The 
Treaty  was  ratified,  and  appropriations  made  for  its  ex- 
ecution, after  a  debate  which  was  almost  a  repetition 
of  that  on  Jay's  Treaty  in  1795,  each  party,  however 
citing  the  arguments  and  resolutions  then  offered  by 
the  opposite  party.  During  this  Session  the  manner 
of  the  Presidential  election  was  amended  to  the  form 
which  it  has  at  present.  Having  been  ratified  by  the 
necessary  number  of  States,  this  became  the  Xllth 
Amendment.  Articles  of  impeachment  were  voted 
by  the  House  against  a  Federalist  Judge,  Chase,  of 
Maryland,  for  arbitrary  and  oppressive  conduct  in  try- 
ing cases  under  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws.  Con- 
gress adjourned  March  27th,  1804. 

11.  The    Republicans   offered   the    President    and 
George   Clinton,  of  New  York,  as   their   Presidential 
candidates.     Burr  had  come  too  near  the  Presidency 
in  1801  to  be  made  prominent  again  with  Jefferson's 
consent.     He  was  therefore  dropped,  and  Clinton  took 
his  place.     The  Federalists  offered  as  their  candidate?1 
Charles    C.  Pinckney,  of  South    Carolina,  and   Rufus 
King,  of  New  York.     The  Presidential  Election 


1804.]  Presidential  Election. —  Chase  Trial.       59 

in  November  resulted  in  the  overwhelming  defeat  of 
the  Federalists,  who  carried  only  Connecticut  and  Del- 
aware, with  two  electors  in  Maryland. 

12.  Congress  met  November  5th,  1804.  The  Session 
Vlllth  Congress,  was  mainly  occupied  by  the 
2d  Session.  Trial  of  Judge  Chase  by  the 
Senate,  on  articles  of  impeachment  prepared  by  the 
House  at  its  last  Session.  Unfortunately  the  trial  be- 
came a  party  struggle.  The  Federalists  espoused  the 
cause  of  Judge  Chase,  and  the  Republicans  were 
determined  to  convict  him.  Vice- President  Burr, 
who  presided  at  the  trial,  had  shot  Hamilton  in  a 
duel  near  New  York  in  July,  1804,  and  thus  deprived 
the  Federalists  of  their  ablest  leader.  But  his  im- 
partiality and  contempt  for  party  demands  during  the 
Chase  trial  went  far  to  induce  them  to  condone  his 
offense.  A  sufficient  number  of  Senators  did  not  vote 
to  condemn  Judge  Chase  on  any  one  charge,  and 
he  was  found  not  guilty  on  all.  The  angry  disap- 
pointment of  the  Republicans  led  them  to  introduce 
.several  Amendments  to  make  impeachment  and  con 
viction  more  easy  and  certain,  but  none  were  adopted. 
In  February,  1805,  the  electoral  votes  were  counted, 
and  were  found  to  be,  162  for  Jefferson  and  Clinton 
and  14  for  Pinckney  and  King.  Jefferson  and  Clin- 
ton were  therefore  declared  elected.  March  3d,  1805, 
Congress  adjourned,  and  March  4tb  Jefferson  and 
Clinton  were  sworn  into  office. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FIFTH    ADMINISTRATION,   1805-1809. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  President.          George  Clinton,  Vice-President, 
IXth  and  Xth  Congresses. 

1.  CONGRESS  met  December  ad,  1805,  with  an  over- 
X'Xth  Congress,     whelming  Republican  majority  in 

ist  Session.  both  branches.  Nathaniel  Macon 
was  again  chosen  Speaker  in  the  House.  Federalism 
still  retained  control  of  New  England,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Vermont.  In  the  other  States  it  seemed  to  be 
dead  or  dying.  But  New  England's  influence  was  so 
much  greater  than  its  proportionate  size  that  the  party 
which  controlled  it  was  certain  to  be  at  least  a  strong 
minority  in  national  politics. 

2.  The  Napoleonic  wars  still  continued,  and  Great 
Britain  and  France  were  using  every  expedient  to  (. rip- 
pis  each  other,  without  regard  to  the  rights  of  neutral 
nations.     While  the  President  was  anxious  to  defend 
American  commerce,  he  was  averse  to  increasing  the 
expenses  of  his   Administration   by  building  a  navy 
He  therefore  recommended,  and  Congress  adopted,  a 

60 


1805.]  The  Randolph  Faction.  61 

plan  lor  the  building  of  a  number  of  small  gua-boats, 
as  more  economical  than  ships  of  war.  This  "  Gun- 
boat System  "  was  always  hateful  to  the  navy,  and 
was  a  constant  object  of  Federalist  ridicule  and  attack. 

3.  The  President  again  called  the  attention  of  Con 
gress  to  the  unfriendly  actions  of  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties at  New  Orleans.     His  Message  on  this  subject  was 
referred  to  a  committee  of  which   Randolph,  of  \rir- 
ginia,  was  chairman.     Randolph  had  been  one  of  the 
Republican  leaders  while  the  party  was  in  opposition, 
but  his  irritable  spirit  disqualified  him  for  heading  an 
Administration  party.     He  could  attack,  but  could  not 
defend.     He  had  taken  offense  at  the  President's  re- 
fusal to  make  him  Minister  to  England,  and  immedi- 
ately  took   sides  with  the   Federalists,  foUowed  by  a 
number  of  his  friends,  though  not  sufficient  to  give  the 
Federalists  a  majority.     Randolph's  committee  reported 
resolutions  which  the  Republicans  voted  down,  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  calculated  to  provoke  a  need- 
less collision  with  Spain.     A  substitute  was  then  passed 
authorizing  the  President  to  purchase  the  Floridas  from 
Spain.1     This  was  afterward  modified  by  a  resolution 
that  it  was  advisable  to  exchange  a  part  of  Louisiana 
for  East  and  West   Florida.     The  Randolph  faction 
popularly  called  "  Quids,"  gave  fresh  life  to  the  Fed- 
eralists in  Congress,  and  made  them  an  active  and  use 
ful  opposition  party. 

4.  Through  the  first  three  months  or  1806  \a.rious 
resolutions  were  offered  in  Congress,  looking  toward 
Retaliation  upon  England.    They  culminated  in 

1  Th'A  v  as  not  effected,  however,  until  i8iq. 


62  American  Politics.  [1806 

the  adoptior  of  an  Act  to  prohibit  the  importation  ot 
certain  English  goods  after  November  i5th.  The  vote 
upon  this  bill  (93  to  32  in  the  House,  and  19  to  9  in  the 
Senate)  is  a  fair  statement  of  the  Administration  major- 
ty  at  this  Session.  Another  unsuccessful  attempt  was 
nade  to  facilitate  the  removal  of  Federal  Judges,  The 
increase  of  loose  constructionist  ideas  among  the  Re- 
publicans was  marked  by  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  tha 
construction  of  a  National  Road  from  Maryland  tc 
Ohio.1  Congress  adjourned  April  2ist,  1806. 

5.  The  summer  of  1806  was  spent  by  the  quids  in 
efforts  to  bring  Monroe  back  from  his  mission  to  En- 
gland, to  be  used  as  a  Presidential  candidate  against 
Madison,  whom  the  President  was  supposed  to  favor 
The  late  Vice- President,  Burr,  came  up  again  to  pub- 
lic notice,  by  a  mysterious  expedition  down  the  Mis- 
sissippi, by  which  he  hoped  to  retrieve  his  fallen  fort- 
unes.    It  was  not  known  whether  its  object  was  col- 
onization, an  attack  upon  the  Spanish  possessions,  or 
the  founding  of  an  independent  western  empire.     The 
President,  by  proclamation,  cautioned  all  citizens  not 
to  engage  in  the  enterprise,  and  gave  orders  for  Burr's 
arrest. 

6.  Congress  met  December  ist,  1806.     The  Presi- 
IXlh  Congress,     dent's  Message  called  attention 

ad  Session.  to  the  growing  excess  of  receipts 
over  expenditures,  and  suggested  Amendments  to  the 
Constitution  giving  Congress  the  doubted  power  to  ex- 

1  This  was  the  first  appearance  of  the  question  ff  making  Internal  Improve 
inents  at  Federal  F-xp'-se,  which  afterwards  dividei  parties  from  1830  untf 


i8o/.]  Burrs  Expedition.  63 

pend  the  surplus  on  roads,  canals,  and  education.  No 
action  was  taken  upon  them.  The  Act  prohibiting 
importations  from  England,  passed  at  the  last  Session 
was  suspended  until  July  ist,  1807,  and  the  Presiden* 
was  given  discretionary  power  to  suspend  it  until  De- 
cember. 

7.  January  22d,  1807,  the  President  sent  to  Congress 
ihe  dispatches  which  showed  the  progress  of  Burr's 
Expedition  up  to  that  time.     The  Senate,  in  great 
alarm,  passed  unanimously  a  bill  to  suspend  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  for  three  months,  a  measure  repug- 
nant  to   all   the   principles   of  the    dominant    party 
Three  days  afterward  the  House  rejected  the  bill,  by  a 
vote  nearly  unanimous.     Congress  adjourned  March 
3d,   1807.     Burr's  expedition   had   by  this  time   dis- 
banded, and  its  leader  was  on  his  way  to  Virginia,  to 
be  tried  for  treason,  his  enterprise  having  been  begun 
within  the  limits  of  that  State. 

8.  In  December,  1806,  a  Treaty  with  England 
had  been  arranged,  which  was  almost  identical  with 
Jay's  treaty  of  1795.     As  ^  ^  England  at  liberty  to 
impress  American  seamen,  and  to  search  American 
ships,  the  President  rejected  it,  without  laying  it  before 
the  Senate,  and  tried  further  negotiation,  but  without 
success.     His  action  was  supported  by  the  Republic- 
ans, and  attacked  by  the  Federalists,  who  were  the 
commercial  part  of  the  community,  and  were  anxious 
for  almost  any  treaty  with  England.     The  rejection  of 
this  treaty  embittered  English  feeling  against  the  Unit- 
ed States,  and  was  probably  a  leading  cause  of  the  re 


64  American  Politics. 

ncived  English  aggressions,  the  Embargo,  and  the  Wai 
of  1812. 

9.  Burr's    Examination  began  in   May,   1807, 
hefoi?  the  Grand  Jury  in  Richmond,  Va.     It  took  a 
party  aspect  almost  from  the  beginning.     The  Feder- 
alists considered  Burr's  arrest  an  Executive  usurpation 
of  power,     The  President  was  determined  that  the  re- 
sult of  the  trial  should  justify  his  action,  and  became 
notorious  for  his  interference  in  the  management  of  the 
case.    His  letters  to  the  District  Attorney  were  frequent, 
and  his  anxiety  for  Burr's  conviction  roused  the  Federal- 
ists to  greater  exertions  for  Burr's  acquittal.    The  counsel 
for  defense  even  caused  a  writ  to  be  served  upon  the 
President,  commanding  his  personal  attendance  as  a  wit- 
ness.   The  President  refused  to  obey,  on  the  ground  of 
public  inconvenience,  and  the  matter  was  not  pressed. 
The  Grand  Jury  found  an  indictment  against   Burr. 
His  trial  came  on  in  August,  before  Chief  Justice  Mar- 
shall, and  resulted  in  his  acquittal  for  want  of  jurisdic- 
tion.    The  administration  was  thus  defeated,  and  aban- 
doned any  further  earnest  prosecution  of  Aaron  Burr. 

10.  In  June,  1807,  the  British  frigate  Leopard,  off 
Hampton  Roads,  had  taken  by  force  four  seamen  from 
the  United  States  frigate  Chesapeake,  after  a  shame- 
fully feeble  resistance.     Both  political  parties  joined 
heartily  in  the  indignation  excited  by  this  outrage,  and 
war  with  England  would  have  been  everywhere  popu- 
lar, for  the  day  was  past  when  parties  were  ready  to  go 
all  lengths  in  support  of  either  France  or  England 
The  President  was  anxious  for  peace,  and  left  the  mat- 


1807.]  The  Chesapeake  Outrage.  65 

ter  to  be  settled,  some  years  afterward,  by  negotiation 
It  \\ould  be  out  of  place  to  discuss  here  the  alternating 
attacks  on  neutral  rights  by  the  great  European  bellig- 
erents, before  and  after  this  date,  the  proclamation  by 
England  of  a  paper  blockade  of  the  whole  French 
coast,  the  counter  proclamation  by  France  of  a  papei 
blockade  of  the  British  islands,  the  Orders  in  Council 
to  the  English  navy  to  search  neutral  vessels  for  French 
goods,  and  the  counter  orders  to  the  French  navy  to 
capture  every  vessel  which  should  submit  to  such 
search.1  England's  power  being  the  greater  on  the 
ocean,  her  aggressions  bore  most  heavily  on  the  United 
States,  whose  commerce  was  rapidly  being  destroyed. 

1 1.  The  President,  by  proclamation,  had  warned  all 
Xth  Congress,  British  armed  vessels  not  to  entei 
ist  Session.  American  ports,  and  had  called  an 
early  session  of  Congress.  It  met  October  26th,  1807, 
with  a  Republican  majority  in  both  branches.  In  the 
House  a  Republican,  Joseph  B.  Varnum,  of  Massachu- 
setts, was  chosen  Speaker.  The  President  recom- 
mended a  bill  by  which  American  vessels  should  be 
prohibited  from  leaving  foreign  ports,  and  foreign 
vessels  from  taking  cargoes  from  the  United  States, 
and  all  coasting  vessels  should  be  required  to  give 
bonds  to  land  their  cargoes  in  the  United  States 
This  was  the  celebrated  Embargo  Bill,  which  de- 
stroyed, for  the  time,  all  American  commerce,  in- 
tensified party  feeling,  and  even  threatened  the  exist- 

1  Jefferson,  in  a  private  letter,  said  that  "England  seemed  to  hf  ve 
>  den  of  pirates,  and  France  a  den  of  thieves." 


66  American  Politics.  [1808 

ence  of  the  Union.  It  was  passed  by  strict  party 
votes,  being  opposed  vehemently  by  the  Federalists 
and  quids,  en  the  ground  that  it  would  injure  the 
United  States  rather  than  England,  and  would  com- 
plete  the  commercial  ruin  which  foreign  attacks  had 
begun.  Having  given  the  President  the  power  of 
suspending  the  Embargo  Act  whenever  it  should  seem 
advisable  to  him  to  do  so,  Congress  adjourned  April 
25th,  1808. 

12.  Presidential  Nominations   were    made  at 
this  Session  by  Congressional  caucuses.     The  Repub- 
licans   nominated    James   Madison,  of   Virginia,  for 
President,  and  George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  for  Vice- 
President.     Madison's  chief  competitors  for  the  nomi- 
nation were  James  Monroe,  who  was  supported  by  the 
quids  of  the  Virginia  Assembly,  and  George   Clinton, 
who  was  supported  by  a  part  of  the  New  York  Repub- 
licans.    The  Federalists  nominated  C.  C.  Pinckney,  of 
South  Carolina,  for  President,  and  Rufus  King,  of  New 
York,  for  Vice- President.     The  President  had  been  re- 
quested by  the  Legislatures  of  most  of  the  Republican 
States  to  accept  a  third  term,  but  declined. 

13.  During  the  summer  of  1808  the  Embargo  be- 
gan to  bear  so  heavily  on  the  commercial  interests  of 
New  England  and  the  Middle  States  that  their  com- 
plaints drowned  other  subjects  of  discussion,  and  took 
away  much  of  the  excitement  of  a  Presidential  election. 
The  remaining  strength  of  the  Federalists  was  concen- 
trated in  these  States,  so  that  party  bitterness  aggra- 
vated financial  distress.     It  was  said  that  the  Repub 


i8o8"|   Presidential  Election. — Embargo.          6j 

lican  States  had  devised  the  Embargo  as  a  substitute  foi 
war,  because  its  ill  effects  would  fall  mainly  upon  the 
Federalist  States.  There  was  every  indication  that 
New  England  would  obey  it  with  reluctance.  The 
choice,  however,  lay  between  war,  an  embargo,  or  sub 
mission.  For  the  latter  there  were  very  few  advocates 
The  war  party  was  divided,  some  of  its  members  wish* 
ing  for  war  against  England,  others  for  war  against 
France,  and  still  others  for  war  against  both.  The 
great  majority  of  the  people  still  favored  the  Embargo, 
and  the  Presidential  Election  in  November  re- 
sulted largely  in  favor  of  the  Republicans.  New  En- 
gland stood  almost  alone  in  choosing  Federalist  electors. 

14.  Congress  met  November  yth,  1808.    Its  proceed- 
Xth  Congress,     ings  were  confined  to  resolutions 

2d  Session.  and  protests  against  French  and 
English  aggressions,  and  the  rejection  of  Federalist  res- 
olutions to  repeal  the  Embargo,  until  February,  1809. 
In  that  month  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  had  re- 
signed the  Massachusetts  Senatorship  because  his  sup- 
port of  the  Embargo  had  been  disapproved  by  his  State 
Legislature,  informed  the  President  that  the  Embargo 
could  no  longer  be  enforced  in  New  England,  that  the 
Federalist  leaders  had  made  all  arrangements  to  break 
off  from  federal  relations  with  the  rest  of  the  Union 
unless  the  Act  was  repealed,  and  that  .in  agent  from  the 
Canadas  was  then  in  New  England  to  offer  the  assist- 
ance of  the  English  Government  to  the  sc/ieme.1 

15.  Adams's  warning  impressed  the  President  and  the 

1  Adams's  accuracy  has  been  denied,  and  it  ha?  even  been  asserted  that  hit 


68  American  Politics.  [1809 

Republican  leaders  so  much  that  they  at  once  secured 
the  passage  of  a  modification  of  the  Embargo,  known 
as  the  Non-Intercourse  Acl.  By  this  the  Em- 
bargo was  repealed,  after  March  4th,  as  to  commerce 
with  all  nations  excepting  England  and  France.  It 
was  hoped  that  this  would  quiet  the  excitement  in  New 
England,  without  yielding  the  principle  of  the  Embargo 
1 6.  In  February  the  electoral  votes  were  counted, 
and  were  found  to  be,  for  President,  122  for  James 
Madison,  6  for  George  Clinton,  and  47  for  C.  C.  Pinck- 
ney,  and  for  Vice-President,  113  for  George  Clinton, 
47  for  Rufus  King,  and  15  scattering.  Madison  and 
Clinton  were  therefore  declared  elected.  March  jd, 
1809,  Congress  adjourned,  and  March  4th  Madison 
and  Clinton  were  sworn  into  cffice. 

appointment,  soon  after,  as  Miuister  to  Russia  was  the  reward  of  his  wilful 
falsification. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SIXTH   ADMINISTRATION, 


James  Madison,  President.  George  Clinton,  Vice-  Presideil 

Xlth  and  Xllth  Congresses. 

i.  THE  Difficulties  with  England  were  compli 
Xlth  Congress,  cated,  at  the  beginning  of  Madi- 
Extra  Session,  son's  term  of  office  by  an  unfortu- 
nate mistake  of  the  British  Minister,  Mr.  Erskine, 
caused  by  his  desire  for  peace.  Shortly  after  the 
inauguration  he  informed  the  President  that  he  was 
authorized  by  his  Government  to  withdraw  the  objec- 
tionable orders  to  the  English  navy.  The  President 
therefore,  by  proclamation,  summoned  a  Special  Ses- 
sion of  Congress  to  meet  May  22d,  1809,  and  sus- 
pended the  Non-Intercourse  Act,  as  applied  to  En- 
gland, after  June  loth.  This  he  was  authorized  to 
do  by  the  terms  of  the  Act.  Congress  met  on  the  day 
appointed,  with  a  Republican  majority  in  both  branches, 
In  the  House  Speaker  Varnum  was  re-elected.  En- 
gland had  in  the  mean  time  disavowed  her  Minister's 
offer,  and  recalled  him,  and  a  new  proclamation  by  the 

69 


70  American  Politics.  fi8o9 

President  restored  the  Non-Intercourse  Act  us  before. 
The  Federalists  represented  the  whole  misunderstand- 
ing as  a  Republican  tricit  10  influence  the  elections, 
There  being  no  business  10  occupy  Congress,  it  ad« 
journed  June  28th. 

2.  Congress  met  November  2/th,  1809.     The  Re 
Xlth    Congress,     publican  majority  was  so   large 

ist  Session.  that  every  Administration  meas- 
ure was  promptly  carried,  and  there  was  little  party 
conflict.  A  continuance  of  the  Non-Intercourse  Act 
was  voted.  Mr.  Erskine's  successor  had  contradicted 
the  Secretary  of  State  so  frequently  and  so  offensively 
that  Congress,  by  a  strict  party  vote,  passed  a  resolu- 
tion declaring  his  language  to  be  insolent,  and  request- 
ing the  President  to  recognize  him  no  longer.  Con- 
gress adjourned  May  ist,  1810. 

3.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1810.     France  had 
Xlth  Congress,     managed  so  adroitly  as  to  leave 

2d  Session.  it  in  doubt  whether  her  objection- 
able decrees  had  been  withdrawn  or  not.  The  Re- 
publicans chose  to  consider  them  withdrawn,  and  re- 
pealed the  Non-Intercourse  Act,  as  applied  to  France, 
The  President  endeavored  to  induce  England  to  with- 
draw her  Orders  in  Council,  but  this  was  refused  on 
the  ground  that  there  was  no  evidence  of  any  repea 
by  France.  The  Non-Intercourse  Act  was  therefore 
continued  against  England. 

4.  An  effort  was  made  at  this  Session  to  re-charter 
the  National   Bank,  which  had  been  chartered  in 
1791  for  twenty  years.     Opposition  tc  such  a  bank 


iSn.J         Adoption  of  a  War  Policy.  71 

was  a  necessary  article  of  belief  among  Strict  Construe 
tionists.  But  the  corporation  had  so  many  Repub- 
lican friends  in  Congress  that  a  bill  to  recharter  it  wai 
favorably  reported  by  the  committees  of  both  branches, 
end  aft;r  long  debate  was  only  defeated  by  a  majority 
of  one  vote  in  the  House,  and  by  the  casting  vote  of 
the  Vice- President  in  the  Senate.  Thereupon  the 
Bank  wound  up  its  business,  and  ceased  to  act.  Con- 
gress adjourned  March  3d,  1811. 

5.  Congress  met  November  4th,  1811.  The  Re- 
Xllth  Congress,  publican  majority  was  still  over- 

ist  Session.  whelmingly  large,  but  it  con- 
tained several  rising  and  energetic  members,  who  af- 
terward became  party  leaders,  and  who  were  now  suc- 
cessfully urging  upon  the  party  a  Change  of  Policy. 
Hitherto  Jefferson  and  Madison  had  made  it  a  peace 
party,  and  had  carefully  avoided  direct  conflict  with 
France  or  England.  The  capture  of  over  900  American 
merchant  vessels  since  1803  had  been  no  more  effectual 
than  such  isolated  outrages  as  the  Chesapeake  case  in 
rousing  the  Administration  to  the  idea  of  forcible  resist- 
ance. Under  the  new  leaders  the  Republicans  became 
a  war  party.  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  was  chosen 
Speaker  of  the  House.  William  H.  Crawford,  of 
Georgia,  in  the  Senate,  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  of 
South  Carolina,  in  the  House,  became  the  recognized 
Congressional  leaders  of  the  party.  The  economical  and 
retrenching  policy  of  Jefferson  was  abandoned,  and 
preparations  were  begun  for  hostilities,  against  the  op- 
position of  the  Federalists,  and  the  timid  or  peace  lov 


72  American  Politics.  [1812 

ing  Republicans.     Bills  were  passed  to  enlist  men,  to 
organize  the  militia,  and  to  equip  and  enlarge  the  navy. 

6.  The   President  was  given  to  understand  thai 
his  nomination  for  a  second  term  of  office  depended 
upon  his  adoption  of  the  war  policy   and  that  his  re- 
fusal to  do  so  would  cause  the  nomination  of  De  Witt 
Clinton,  of  New  York,  in  his  stead.     Thus  pressed  the 
President   yielded,  and  was  consequently  renominated 
by  the  usual  caucus  of  Republican  members  of  Con- 
gress, with  Elbridge  Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  for  Vice- 
President.     Clinton  refused  to  be  bound  by  this  bar- 
gain, and,  having   been   nominated   by  a  Republican 
caucus  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  persisted  in  his 
candidacy.     To  profit  by  this  promising  division  among 
the  Republicans,  a  caucus  of  leading  Federalists,  held 
in  New  York  City,  decided  to  support   Clinton,  with 
Jared  Ingersoll,  of  Pennsylvania,  for  Vice-President. 

7.  In  March,  1812,  the  President  took  the  first  step 
in  fulfillment  of  his  bargain  by  sending  to  Congress, 
with  a  special  Message,  certain  documents,  which  he 
had  purchased  from  one  John  Henry  for  $50,000. 
Henry  claimed  to  have  been  the  agent  sent  from  Can- 
ada in  1809  to  detach  the  New  England  Federalists 
from  the'r  allegiance  to  the  Union,  and  his  documents 
piiqiorted  to  show  the  complicity  of  the  British  Gov 
eminent.     The    British    Minister  solemnly  denied  all 
knowledge  of,  or  belief  in,  any  such  agent,  but  Con 
gress,  by  resolution,  proclaimed    Henry's   document 
authentic,  and  denounced  England's  perfidious  attack 
on  the  unity  of  a  friendly  nation.     The  principal   e£ 


I8l2.~)  Declaration  of  War.  73 

feet  of  this  episode  was  to  outrage  and  e  .{asperate  the 
Federalists  of  New  England. 

8.  As  a  preliminary  to  war  an  Embargo  was  laid 
upon  American  shipping   for  90   days.     The   British 
Minister  finally  declared,  May  3oth,  that  his  Govern- 
ment would  not  recede  from  its  policy  toward  neutrals. 
Dispatches  from  the  American  agent  in   London  in- 
formed the  President  that  the  same  declaration  had 
been  made  by  the   English    Ministry  in   Parliament. 
The  President  therefore  sent  a  Message  to  Congress, 
June  ist,  reviewing  the  past  and  present  difficulties  with 
Great  Britain.     It  was  referred  to  a  committee,  whose 
report  was  a  summary  of  American  grievances  against 
England,  the  impressment  of  American   seamen,  the 
Orders  in  Council,  the  system  of  paper  blockades,  and 
the  refusal  to  settle  American  claims  for  damages.     It 
concluded  by  recommending  a  declaration  of  war. 

9.  An  Act  was  consequently  passed,  and  signed  by 
the  President,  June   i8th,  declaring  that  a  State  of 
War  existed  between  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain   and   Ireland   and   its   dependencies,  and   the 
United  States  01  America.     Of  the  98  members  who 
voted  for  the  war  76  were  from  the  South  and  West 
On  the  following  day  the  President's  proclamation  an- 
nounced that  the  war  had  begun.     We  have  nothing 
to  do  with  its  events,  except  as  they  influenced  politics 
in  the  United  States.     It  was  soon  learned  that  the 
Orders  in  Council  had  been  revoked  in  London  five 
days  after  the  declaration  of  war,  but  the  revocation 
came  too  late.     Even  if  it  had  been  made  in  'ime,  the 


74  American  Politics.  [1812 

war  party  would  probably  have  insisted  upon  the  aban 
donment  by  England  of  the  right  of  search  and  ira 
pressment,  and  would  have  declared  war  on  that  issue 
Congress  adjourned  July  6th,  1812.  April  3oth 
Louisiana  had  become  a  state  of  the  Union. 

10.  The  Presidential  Election  in  November  re- 
sulted in  the  success  of  a  large  majority  of  Republican 
electors,  and  of  members  of  the  XHIth  Congress 
pledged  to  support  the  Administration  and  the  war 
But  the  Opposition  to  the  "War  was  manifested  by 
every  legal  method  from  its  very  beginning.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  declaration  the  Federalist  members  of 
Congress  had  published  their  protest  against  it  in  an 
address  to  their  constituents.  Under  the  Act  passed 
by  Congress  to  embody  the  militia,  requisitions  were 
made  by  the  President  upon  the  Governors  of  the  dif- 
ferent States  for  their  respective  quotas.  The  Gov- 
ernors of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  refused  to  al- 
low their  militia  to  leave  their  States,  on  the  ground 
that  the  Federal  Government  could  not  constitutionally 
call  out  the  militia  until  an  invasion  had  taken  place, 
or  the  laws  of  the  United  States  had  been  resisted.  In 
this,  as  in  many  other  instances  throughout  the  war.  the 
possession  of  power  by  the  Republicans  inclined  them 
'toward  a  loose  construction  of  the  Constitution,  and 
the  Federalists  toward  a  strict  construction  of  it. 

if.  Congress  met  November  2d,  1812.  The  larg? 
Xllth  Congress,  Republican  majority  prevented 

2d  Session.          any   party   contest.     The   Ran- 
dolph faction,  or  Quids,  had  ceased  to  have  a  separate 


1813.]        Formation  of  a  Peace  Party.  75 

existence  after  its  failure  to  nominate  Monroe.  Most 
of  its  members  were  now  supporters  of  the  Administra- 
tion. The  remainder,  with  the  Federalists  and  those 
Republicans  who  opposed  the  war,  had  formed  a 
"  Peace  Party."  But  their  defection  was  more  than 
compensated  by  the  number  of  Federalists  whom  it 
drove  into  political  union  with  the  war  party.  In  Con- 
gress both  parties  united  in  rewarding,  encouraging,  and 
increasing  the  Navy,  whose  brilliant  exploits  had  in- 
toxicated the  whole  nation  with  the  unexpected  con- 
sciousness that  it  alone,  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
could  match  and  master  England  upon  her  own  ele- 
ment, the  ocean.  This  Session  was  occupied  mainly 
in  measures  necessary  for  the  active  prosecution  of  the 
war,  which  were  all  passed  by  party  votes.  In  Feb- 
ruary the  electoral  votes  were  counted  and  were  found 
to  be,  for  President,  128  for  Madison,  and  89  for  Clin- 
ton, and,  for  Vice- President,  131  for  Gerry,  and  86  for 
Ingersoll.  Madison  and  Gerry  were  therefore  de- 
clared elecled.  March  3d,  1813,  Congress  adjourned, 
and  March  4th  Madison  and  Gerry  were  swum  into 
office. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SEVENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1 8  13- -1 817. 

{a.nes  Madison,  President.  Elbridge  Gerry,  Vice-Presideit 

XHIth  and  XlVth  Congresses. 

1.  CONGRESS   met    May  24th,    1813,   having  been 
Xlllth  Congress,     summoned  by  the  President  to 

Extra  Session.  a  Special  Session  to  con- 
sider the  difficulties  encountered  in  raising  money  for 
the  War.  The  President's  Message  also  mentioned  the 
proffered  mediation  of  the  Czar  of  Russia,  which  En- 
gland afterward  declined.  In  the  House  Henry  Clay, 
of  Kentucky,  was  chosen  Speaker,  and  the  vote  (89  to 
54)  represents  the  Administration  majority.  The  Re* 
publican  majority  in  the  Senate  was  weakened  by  a  fac- 
tion opposed  to  the  Administration.  The  business  of 
this  Session  was  mainly  routine.  Congress  adjourned 
August  ad. 

2.  The  Dislike  to  the  War  and  its  management 
became  more  apparent  as  it  went  on.     The  Connecti- 
cut Legislature  had  declared  it  to  be  the  solemn  and 
deliberate  opinion  of  the  people  of  that  State  that  the 

76 


l8i3-]  Opposition  to  the  War.  77 

war  was  unnecessary.  So  notorious  was  the  general 
feeling  of  the  Eastern  States  that  England  had  en- 
deavored to  mark  a  political  division  between  New 
England  and  the  rest  >f  the  Union  by  exempting  Mas- 
sachusetts (which  included  the  present  State  of  Maine) 
Rhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshire,  from  the  blockad 
of  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

3.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1813.     This  Session 
Xlllth  Congress,     was  also  occupied  chiefly  with 

ist  Session.  routine  business,  and  in  efforts 
to  improve  the  condition  of  the  finances.  Illicit  trade 
from  the  New  England  coast  to  the  English  ships  had 
become  so  common  that  a  New  Embargo  Ad  was 
passed,  applying  to  all  vessels,  large  or  small.  Con- 
gress adjourned  April  i8th,  1814.  In  August  occurred 
the  sack  and  burning  of  Washington  by  an  English  ex- 
pedition, an  affair  almost  equally  disgraceful  to  both 
nations.1 

4.  Congress  met  September  lyth,  1814.     Negotia- 
Xlllth  Congress,     tions  for  Peace  had  been  be- 
ad Session.  gun  in  August.     Napoleon  was, 

foi  the  time,  overthrown,  and  the  American  Govern- 
ment was  anxious  for  almost  any  honorable  peace,  in 
preference  to  continuing  the  war  with  England.  The 
Orders  in  Council  had  been  revoked  long  before,  and 
the  American  Commissioners  were  instructed  not  to  in 
sist  upon  the  other  object  of  the  war,  the  abandonment 
of  the  rights  of  search  and  impressment.  The  English 
demands  rose  as  those  of  the  United  States  fell.  En 

1  The  President  b.ireb  escaped 


78  American  Politics.  [1814 

gland  now  insisted  that  an  independent  Indian  nation 
should  be  organized  between  Canada  and  the  United 
States,  and  that  the  United  States  should  maintain  no 
fleet  or  military  posts  on  the  Great  Lakes. 

5.  The  publication  of  these  conditions  in  Octobei 
gain  roused  the  war  feeling  of  the  Republicans,  and 

some  of  their  leaders  began  to  meditate  measures  which 
the  strict  constructionist  principles  of  the  party  could 
not  justify.  The  Secretary  of  War  proposed  the  in- 
crease of  the  army  by  a  draft,  or  conscription.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  proposed  to  introduce  the  En- 
lish  system  of  impressment  of  seamen.  To  Republic- 
ans generally  such  measures  seemed  unconstitutional, 
and  they  were  rejected,  though  strongly  urged  by  the 
Administration.  Fresh  discontent  was  excited  by  a 
bill  offered  in  the  Senate,  allowing  officers  of  the  army 
to  enlist  minors  over  18  years  old  without  consent  of 
their  parents  or  guardians.  The  Connecticut  Legisla- 
ture ordered  the  Governor  to  resist  the  execution  of 
these  and  similar  measures,  if  they  should  become  laws. 

6.  The  commercial   distress   in   New  England,  the 
possession  by  the  enemy  of  a  large  part  of  the  District 
of  Maine,  the  fear  of  their  advance  along  the  coast,  and 
the  apparent  neglect  of  the  Federal  Government  tc 
provide  any  adequate  means  of  resistance,  had  led  tht 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  in  October,  to  invite  the 
other  New  England  States  to  send  delegates  to  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  "to  confer  upon  the  subject  of  then 
public    grievances."     Delegates   from    Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  a:id  from  parts  of  Ver 


i8i4-]          The  Hartford  Convention.  79 

mont  and  New  Hampshire,  met  at  Hartford  in  Decem 
her  and  remained  in  session  for  three  weeks.  In  their 
Report  to  their  State  Legislatures  they  reviewed  the 
state  of  the  country,  the  origin  and  management  of  the 
war,  and  the  strong  measures  lately  proposed  in  Con- 
gress, and  recommended  several  Amendments  to.  the 
Constitution,  chiefly  with  intent  to  restrict  the  powers 
of  Congress  over  commerce,  and  to  prevent  naturalized 
citizens  from  holding  office.  In  default  of  the  adoption 
of  these  Amendments,  another  convention  was  advised, 
"in  order  to  decide  on  the  course  which  a  crisis  so 
momentous  might  seem  to  demand." 

7.  This  was  the  famous  Hartford  Convention. 
The  peace  which  closely  followed  its  adjournment  re- 
moved all  necessity  or  even  desire  for  another  session 
of  it.     Its  objects  seem  to  have  been  legitimate.     But 
the  unfortunate  secrecy  of  its  proceedings,  and  its  some- 
what ambiguous  language,  roused  a  popular  suspicion, 
sufficient  for  the  political  ruin  of  its  members,  that  a 
dissolution  of  the  Union  had  been  proposed,  perhaps 
resolved  upon,  in  its  meetings.     Some  years  afterward 
those  concerned  in  it  were  compelled  in  self-defense  to 
publish  its  journal,  in  order  to  show  that  no  treasonable 
design  was  officially  proposed.     It  was  then,  however, 
;oo  late,  for  the  popular  opinion  had  become  fixed 
Neither  the  Federal  party  which  originated,  nor  the 
Federalist  politicians  who  composed  the  assembly  vere 
ever  freed  from  the  stigma  left  by  the  mysterious  Hart- 
ford Convention. 

8.  In  February,  T8i5,  the  welcome  and  unexpected 


8o  American  Politics. 

news  of  Peace  reached  Congress.  It  TW.S  welcome  to 
the  Administratic n,  whose  inexperience  in  the  conducl 
of  the  war  had  involved  it  in  great  financial  straits,  to 
the  Federalists,  who  considered  the  war  iniquitous,  and 
even  to  the  war  party,  who  had  begun  to  anticipate  a 
single  contest  with  England.  Therefore  the  peace, 
which  actually  secured  not  one  of  the  objects  for  which 
war  had  been  declared,  occasioned  rejoicings  which 
would  have  been  more  appropriate  for  a  more  success- 
ful termination  of  the  war.  The  rest  of  this  Session 
was  necessarily  spent  in  the  active  reduction  of  govern- 
ment to  a  peace  establishment,  and  in  the  reduction  of 
expenses,  with  the  exception  of  the  navy.  The  Acts 
which  had  been  necessary  in  preparing  for  or  carrying 
on  the  war  were  repealed.  Congress  adjourned  March 
3d,  1815. 

9.  The  close  of  the  war  marks  the  final  Extinction 
of  the  Federal  Party.  The  few  remaining  Federal- 
ists from  this  time  began  to  desist  from  any  united 
party  action.  The  whole  people  composed  one  party 
whose  principles  were  neither  those  of  the  original  Fed- 
eral, nor  those  of  the  original  Republican,  party,  but  a 
combination  of  both.  The  cardinal  principle  of  the 
Federal  party,  the  preservation  and  perpetuity  of  the 
Federal  Government,  had  been  quietly  accepted  and 
adopted  by  the  Republicans,  while  the  Republican 
principle  of  limiting  the  Federal  Government's  powers 
and  duties  had  been  adopted  by  the  Federalists  vheD 
the  Federal  Government  had  fallen  into  Republican 
nands.  But,  though  the  principles  of  the  Federalists 


I  8 1  e} .  J    Extinction  of  the  Federal  Party.  8 1 

had  made  an  abiding  impression  upon  the  foim  of  gov- 
ernment, their  party  opposition  to  the  war  had  made 
the  name  so  unsavory  that  it  soon  began  to  fall  into 
disuse. 

TO.  Congress  met  December  4th,  1815,  with  a  large 
ilVth  Congress,     Republican    majority   in    both 

ist  Session.  branches.  In  the  House  Henry 
Clay  was  again  chosen  Speaker.  This  Session  was  oc- 
cupied chiefly  by  the  regulation  of  Internal  Affairs, 
which  occasioned  but  little  party  contest.  Taxes  were 
reduced,  and  a  slight  increase  was  made  in  the  Tariff. 
Some  indications  appeared,  during  the  debate,  of  a 
growing  feeling  among  Republicans  that  the  Tariff 
ought  to  be  so  arranged  as  to  give  protection  to  those 
manufactures  which  had  sprung  up  in  America  during 
the  war,  but  were  now  being  endangered  by  the  im- 
portation of  cheaper  goods  of  English  make.  The  mat- 
ter went  no  further  than  debate  at  this  Session. 

ii.  The  spread  of  loose  constructionist  ideas  among 
the  Republicans  was  marked  in  April,  1816,  by  the  pas- 
sage of  a  bill  for  the  charter  of  a  National  Bank,  to 
expire  in  1836.  It  was  modeled  upon  the  one  which 
the  Republicans  had  opposed  in  1791  and  181 1.  Ham« 
ilton's  argument  in  favor  of  such  a  bank  was  repub- 
iished  by  Republican  newspapers  with  a  warmth  of  ap 
proval  which  showed  how  far  the  party  had  forgotteL 
its  strict  constructionist  principles.  Congress  adjourned 
April  3oth,  1816. 

ii.  Presidential  Candidates  were  nominated  by 
the  usual  Congressional  caucuses.     Among  the  Repub 


82  Amtrican  Politics.  [1816 

licans  the  Virginia  influence,  which  had  nimed  the 
President  for  24  of  the  28  years  since  1789,  was  again 
successful  in  nominating  James  Monroe,  his  principal 
competitor  being  Wm.  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia.  Dan- 
iel D.  Tompkins,  of  New  York,  was  nominated  for  the 
Vice-Presidency.  For  President  the  Federalists  sup- 
ported Rufus  King,  of  New  York,  but  united  on  no 
one  for  the  Vice- Presidency.  The  Presidential 
Election  in  November  resulted  in  complete  Repub 
lican  success.  Only  three  States,  Massachusetts,  Con 
necticut,  and  Delaware,  chose  Federalist  electors. 

13.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1816.     Decembei 
XlVth  Congress,     nth,  Indiana  became  a  State 
2d  Session.  of   the   Union.     This    Session 

was  almost  without  party  contest.  In  February,  1817, 
the  electoral  votes  were  counted  and  were  found  to  be, 
for  President,  183  for  Monroe,  and  34  for  King,  and, 
for  Vice-President,  183  for  Tompkins,  and  34  for  vari- 
ous other  persons.  Monroe  and  Tompkins  were 
therefore  declared  elected.  March  3d,  1817,  Congress 
adjourned,  and  March  4th  Monroe  and  Tompkins  were 
sworn  into  office. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EIGHTH    ADMINISTRATION,    I&1J-1&21. 

James  Monroe,  President.     Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  Vice-President. 
XVth  and  XVIth  Congresses. 

1.  The  President  appointed  a  Republican  Cabi- 
Let.     He  had  been  urged  to  ignore  parties  in  his  ap- 
pointments, but  in  his  opinion  the  time  had  not  yet 
rome  to  do  so.     May  3151  he  began  an  extended  tour 
through  the  Northern  States,  being  the  first  President 
to  imitate  Washington's  example  in  this  respect.     The 
welcome  everywhere   given   him   probably  helped  to 
biot  out  the  last  remnant  of  Federalist  opposition. 

2.  Congress  met    December    ist,   1817.     The  pro- 
XVth  Congress,     fessed  Federalists  were  very  few. 

ist  Session.  '  In  the  House  Speaker  Clay  was 
re-elected  almost  unanimously.  December  joth  Mis- 
sissippi became  a  State  of  the  Union.1  The  first  Act 
of  this  Session  abolished  the  internal  taxes  which  had 

1  Appendices  C  and  F  will  show  how  carefully  a  new  Free  State  was  al 
ence  balanced  by  the  creation  of  a  atv/  Slave  State,  in  order  to  control  UM 
Senate. 

83 


84  American  Politics. 

been  imposed  during  the  war.  In  his  Message  the 
President  had  taken  occasion  to  recommend  a  Pro- 
tective Tariff.  The  question  was  compromised, 
nearly  unanimously,  by  the  passage  of  a  bill  continuing 
for  seven  years  the  Tariff  of  1816  on  cottons  and  wool- 
ens, which  was  slightly  protective.  A  proposition  was 
made  to  use  the  dividends  of  the  United  States  from 
the  National  Bank,  instead  of  appropriations.  It  was 
postponed  because  of  the  opposition  of  Strict  Con 
structionists.  A  resolution,  supported  by  Clay,  to  rec- 
ognize the  South  American  Republics,  formed  by 
Spain's  revolted  colonies,  was  rejected.  Congress  ad- 
journed April  2oth,  1818. 

3.  It  is  plain  that  the  all-powerful  Republican  party 
ilready  contained  the  Nucleus  of  a  New  Party, 
and  a  leader  for  it  in  the  person  of  Henry  Clay.     He 
had  headed,  or  advocated,  every  attempt  to  increase 
the  army  and  navy,  to  make  the  Tariff  protective,  to 
begin  a  system  of  general  public  improvements  at  na- 
tional expense,  or  to  make  the  Federal  Government 
prominent  in  foreign  affairs,  as  the  guardian  of  the  in- 
fant Republics  of  South  America.     All  of  these  meas- 
ures seemed  to  Strict   Constructionists   either  uncon- 
stitutional or  unwise.     Some  of  Clay's  followers  were 
only  temporarily  attracted  by  his  personal   influence, 
but  the   great  majority  were  Loose   Constructionists, 
Federalists  in  reality,  though  they  would  have  disliked 
the  name. 

4.  The  summer  of  1818  was  marked  by  Indian  dif 
ficulties  in  Florida,  which  deserve  mention  because  theu 


i8i8.]  The  SeminJe  War.  8$ 

investigation  took  up  much  of  the  time  of  the  next 
Session  of  Congress.  In  quelling  disturbances  among 
the  Georgia  Indians  Andrew  Jackson  had  been  sys- 
tematically thwarted  by  the  Spanish  authorities  of 
Florida,  rie  therefore  entered  their  territory,  seized 
heir  principal  towns,  and  captured  and  put  to  death, 
"  as  outlaws  and  pirates,"  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister, 
two  British  subjects,  who  had  led  the  Seminole  Indians, 

5.  Congress  met  November  i6th,  1818.     December 
XVth  Congress,     3d  Illinois  became  a  State  of 

2d  Session.  the  Union.  In  the  House  the 
Committee  on  Military  Affairs  offered  two  reports  on 
The  Seminole  War.  The  majority  report  proposed 
a  censure  upon  Jackson  for  his  execution  of  Arbuthnot 
and  Ambrister,  declaring  it  to  be  unwise,  unnecessary, 
and  unjustifiable  by  the  laws  of  war  or  of  nations.  The 
minority  report  approved  his  action.  The  majority  re- 
port was  rejected  by  the  Rouse  and  postponed  by  the 
Senate.  The  contest  was  then  transferred  to  the  news- 
papers, where  it  raged  violently. 

6.  February  22d,  1819,  a  treaty  was   concluded  by 
which  Spain  sold  the  Floridas  to  the'  United  States 
for  $5,000,000,  and  the  United  States  abandoned  all 
claim  to  the  territory  West  of  the  Sabine  River  (after- 
wards known  as  Texas),  which  had  formed  part  of 
Louisiana   as   purchased   from    France.1     A   territory 
worth  ten  Floridas  was  thus  surrendered  to  Spain,  and 
became  a  part  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico  two  years 
later. 

1  Within  thirty  years  the  determination  of  the  South  to  regain  thii  aba* 
4cred  territory  forced  the  Un'tcd  States  into  war  with  Mexico. 


86  American  Politics. 

7.  At  tl  is  Session  the  people  of  the  Territory  of 
Missouri  (a  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase)  applied 
for  permission  to  form  a  State  government.     In  the 
House  an  amendment  was  offered  to  the  bill,  forbid- 
ding Slavery  or  involuntary  servitude  in  Missouri,  except 
as  a  punishment  for  crime.1     Party  lines  were  at  once 
dropped.     The  members  from  the  Free   States  voted 
for,  and  the  members  from  Slave  States  against,  the 
amendment.     It  passed  the    House,  was  rejected  by 
the  Senate,  and  the  bill  was  lost.     Congress  adjourned 
March  3d,  1819. 

8.  The  application  of  Missouri  thus  suddenly  brought 
up  the  Slavery  Question,2  which  was  to  be  argued 
and  compromised  for  forty  years,  and  then  settled  by 
civil  war.     Negro  Slavery,  in  the  early  colonial  days, 
had  been  common  in  all  the  colonies,  excepting  Massa- 
chusetts, and  had  even  been  decided  legal  by  the  high- 
est English  court  of  law.     In  the  North  it  had  since 
been  abolished  in  the  States  lying  north  of  the  dividing 
line  run  by  the  old  surveyors,  Mason  and  Dixon,  be- 
tween Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.     In  the  South  it 
worked  mildly,  and  was  considered  a  necessary  and 
hereditary  evil.     But  the  invention  of  Whitney's  cotton 
gin  in  179^  had  made  slave  labor  profitable,  and  had 
made  Slavery  an  institution  to  be  defended  and  ex 
lended  by  the  Southern  States      While  the  Union  was 
confined  to  the  fringe  of  States  along  the  Atlantic  coast 

1  This  was  copied,  in  part,  from  that  of  the  ordinance  of  1787. 
*  Its  appearance  was  so  si  dden  that  Ex-President  Jefferfon  said  it  startle^ 
kite  "like  a  fire-bell  in  the  night." 


1 8 19  J  Slavery,— The  Tariff.  87 

the  Slavery  q  icstion  was  not  troi.  >lesome.  And  it  was 
at  first  possible  to  unite  the  representatives  of  both  sec- 
tions in  the  admission  of  new  States,  by  using  the  Ohio 
as  a  dividing  line  between  the  States  in  which  Slavery 
should  be  forbidden,  and  those  in  which  it  should  1)6 
allowed.  But  when  the  tides  of  emigration  had  crossed 
the  Mississippi  and  had  begun  to  fill  the  Louisiana 
Purchase,  conflict  was  inevitable,  for  the  dividing  line 
was  lost.  In  the  House  the  members  from  the  Free 
States  were  a  majority.  In  the  Senate  the  sections  had 
been  carefully  equalized,  but  a  few  Northern  Senators 
generally  voted  with  the  South,  thus  giving  it  a  ma- 
jority in  that  body. 

9.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1819.  The  state 
XVIth  Congress,  of  parties  was  unchanged.  In 
ist  Session.  the  House  Speaker  Clay  was 
re-elected  almost  unanimously.  December  i4th 
Alabama  became  a  State  of  the  Union.  At  this  Ses- 
sion a  Protective  Tariff  was  passed  by  the  House, 
but  rejected  by  the  Senate.  The  result,  though  it  dis- 
appointed the  Eastern  manufacturers,  who  had  confi- 
dently expected  relief  from  Congress,  shows  a  still 
further  advance  of  loose  constructionist  principles  in 
the  dominant  party.  Strict  Constructionists  believed 
that  the  Constitution  gave  Congress  power  to  lay  dr. 
ties  only  with  a  design  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of 
the  Government  and  for  the  payment  of  the  debt,  and 
that  the  arrangement  ot  duties  for  the  benefit  of  any 
branch  of  manufactures  was  usurpation  of  a  power  not 


88  American  Politics.  [1820 

granted  or  implied.1  Loose  Construe  tionitts  believed 
that  the  power  to  regulate  commerce  and  provide  for 
the  common  defense  implied  the  power  to  lay  a  Pro- 
tective Tariff,  and  that  any  consequent  benefit  to  man- 
ufacturers would  be  more  than  offset  by  the  creation  of 
a  domestic  market  for  agricultural  products. 

10.  At  this  Session  Missouri  again  applied  for  per 
mission  to  form  a  State  government,  and  Maine  (for- 
merly a  part  of  Massachusetts)  made  a  first  application 
for  the  same  permission.     The  House  passed  the  Maine 
bill  without  opposition,  but,  by  a  sectional  vote,  again 
prohibited  Slavery  in  Missouri.     In  the  Senate,  also  by 
a  sectional  vote,  the   Maine  bill  and  a  Missouri  bill 
permitting  Slavery  were  united  and  then  passed.     This 
was  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  both  bills  to  stand 
or  fall  together,  and  of  throwing  upon  the  House  the 
responsibility  for  their  acceptance  or  rejection.     The 
House  rejected  the  combined  bills,  as  passed  by  the 
Senate,  and  adhered  to  its  first  action. 

11.  The  difficulty  was  settled  by  the  famous  Mis- 
souri Compromise  of  1820,  which  was  adopted  by 
the  active  exertions  of  Clay  and  the  moderate  mem 
bers  from  both  sections.     By  this  measure  each  section 
yielded  a  part  of  its  demands,  the  Senate  by  permitting 
Maine  and  Missouri  to  be  voted  upon  separately,  and 
t'ie  House  by  permitting  Slavery  in  Missouri.     Both 
branches  then  united  in  forever  prohibiting  Slavery  in 

*  But  there  have  been  very  few  advocates  of  absolutely  Free  1  rade  .re- 
moval of  all  duties  on  imports),  and  the  entire  payment  of  Government  ex- 
penses by  internal  taxation.  The  party  distinction  given  in  the  text  seemi  V 
have  g  -nerally  governed  our  political  history. 


I82O.J         The  Missouri  Compromise.  89 

All  other  territory  north  of  the  line  of  36°  30'.*  Maine 
was  then  admitted  as  a  State  of  the  Union,  and  the  bill 
authorizing  a  State  government  to  be  formed  in  Mis- 
souri was  passed.  Congress  adjourned  May  isth, 
1820. 

12.  No  Presidential  candidates  were  nominated  this 
year,  there  being  no  opposition  to  the  re-election  of 
President  Monroe  and  Vice- President  Tompkins.     All 
the  electors  chosen  in  the  Presidential  Election  in 
November  were  Republican,  but  one  of  them  refused 
to  vote  for  Monroe,  so  that  his  election  was  not  unan- 
imous. 

13.  Congress  met  November  i3th,  1820.     Speaker 
XVIth  Congress,     Clay  resigned  his  position  on  ac- 

2d  Session.  count  of  private  affairs.  After 
three  days'  balloting  for  a  successor  John  W.  Taylor, 
of  New  York,  a  Loose  Constructionist,  in  favor  of  a 
Protective  Tariff  and  an  internal  improvement  system, 
and  opposed  to  extension  of  Slavery,  was  chosen.  His 
election  shows  the  progress  of  the  division  in  the  Re- 
publican party.  It  gave  great  offense  to  the  Southern 
members,  and  they  for  a  time  debated  a  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  a  remedy  which  has  been  proposed  at  vari- 
ous times  by  almost  every  section  for  every  variety  of 
grievance 

14.  Missouri,  havmg  formed  a  State  government, 

'  Thirty-five  Southern  members,  who  believed  that  Congress  had  no  poww 
to  prohibit  Slavery  in  the  Territories,  voted  against  the  Missoun  Compromise, 
Randolph  called  it  "a  dirty  bargain,"  and  gave  those  who  voted  for  it  th« 
name  of  "doughfaces."  This  title  was  always  afterward  applied  to  Northen 
»>en  "of  Southern  principles  " 


90  American  Politics.  [1821 

applied  for  admission.     It  was  rejected  in  the  House 
by  a  sectional  vote,  on  account  of  a  clause  in  its  con 
stitution,  prohibiting  the  entrance  of  free  negroes  into 
the  State.1     It  was  not  until  March  2d,  1821,  that  this 
difficulty  was  settled,  again  by  Clay's  exertions.     Mis 
souri  was  then  admitted,  on  condition  that  the  Slat 
should  never  pass  an  act  to  interfere  with  the  constitu- 
tional privileges  of  the  citizens  of  other  States.     But 
tlie  Legislature  only  accepted  the  condition  in  Junf, 
1821. 

15.  In  February,  1821,  the  Electoral  Votes  were 
counted.  It  was  known  that  Missouri,  which  claimed 
to  be  already  a  State,  and  protested  against  the  right 
of  Congress  to  reject  her  application,  had  chosen  elect- 
ors. It  was  also  known  that  Southern  members  would 
make  a  vigorous  effort  to  have  these  votes  counted. 
After  a  stormy  session  on  the  day  of  counting,  lasting 
in  the  House  for  several  hours  after  the  time  appointed 
for  joint  meeting  with  the  Senate,  another  compromise 
was  affected.  The  President  of  the  Senate  was  di- 
rected, in  case  any  objection  should  be  made  to  the 
vote  of  Missouri,  to  announce  that  "if  the  votes  of  Mis- 
souri were  counted,  the  number  of  votes  for  A.  B. 
for  President  would  be  so  many,  and  if  the  votes  of 
Missouri  were  not  counted  the  number  of  votes  for  A. 
B.  for  President  would  be  so  many,  and  that  in  either 
ca^e  A.  B.  was  elected."  There  being  no  opposition 
to  the  Republican  candidates,  the  result  of  course  waj 
foreknown. 

1  In  some  of  the  N'orth^m  States  free  negroes  were  citizens. 


1 82 1  ]  The  Vote  of  Missouri.  91 

1 6.  Considerable  delay  and  confusion  yas  caused  in 
joint  meeting  by  an  unsuccessful  attempt  of  some  of 
the  Southern  members  to  renew  the  contest,  but  the 
vote  was  finally  announced  as  previously  agreed. 
There  were  235  votes,  including  that  of  Missouri,  and 
232  without  it.  Not  counting  the  vote  of  Missouri 
there  were,  for  President,  228  votes  for  James  Monroe, 
and  i  for  John  Quincy  Adams,  and,  for  Vice-President, 
215  votes  for  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  and  14  for  various 
other  persons.1  Monroe  and  Tompkins  were  there- 
fore declared  elected.  March  3d,  1821,  Congress  ad- 
journed, and  on  Monday,  March  5th,  Monroe  and 
Tompkins  were  sworn  into  office. 

I  Three  electors  \  ad  died  before  having  an  opi  oil  unity  t»  van. 


CHAPTER  X. 

NINTH  ADMINISTRATION,   1821-1825. 

Jamea  Mont  >e,  President.          Daniel  D.  Tompkins.  Vice-Fresident 
XVIIth  and  XVIIIth  Congresses. 

1.  MONROE'S  election  had  been  so  nearly  unanimous, 
and  party  divisions  had  nominally  so  far  disappeared, 
that  this  Administration  is  commonly  called  The  Era 
of  Good   Feeling.     In  reality  there  was  as  much 
bad  feeling  between  the  Strict  Constructionists  and  the 
Loose   Constructionists   of  the   Republican   party  as 
could  have  existed  between  two  opposing  parties.     The 
want  of  regularly  organized  parties  had  only  the  effect 
of  making  the  next  Presidential  election  a  personal  in- 
stead of  a  party  contest,  the  worst  form  which  a  polit- 
ical struggle  can  take. 

2.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1821.      In  the  House 
XVIIth  Congress,     P.  P.  Barbour,  of  Virginia,  a 

ist  Session.  Strict  Constructionist,  was  chos- 

en   Speaker.     The   Loose    Constructionists,  however, 
succeeded  in  passing  a  bill  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Cumberland  Road,  but  it  was  vetoed  by  the  Presi 
92 


1 822.]      The  Tariff. — Monroe  Doctrine.  93 

dent,  on  the  ground  that  "  Congress  do  not  possess  the 
power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  pass  such  a  law." 
But  his  Message  gave  his  opinion  that  an  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution  should  be  adopted,  giving  the  Fed- 
eral Government  power  to  make  improvements  for 
great  national  purposes.  The  Strict  Construction  ista 
succeeded  in  defeating  further  propositions  to  make 
surveys  for  a  national  canal  system,  and  to  make  the 
Tariff  more  protective.  Congress  adjourned  May  8th, 
1822. 

3.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1822.     There  was 
XVIIth  Congress,     little  party  contest  at  this  Ses- 

2d  Session.  sion.     The  Strict  Construction- 

ists  defeated  bills  for  an  increase  of  the  Tariff,  and  a 
renewed  attempt  to  create  a  national  canal  system, 
All  other  bills  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  Govern- 
ment were  passed,  generally  by  large  majorities.  Con 
gress  adjourned  March  3d,  1823. 

4.  Congress  met  December  ist,  1823.     Henry  Clay, 
XVIIIth  Congress,     of  Kentucky,  who  was  now 

ist  Session.  the  leader  of  the  Loose  Con- 

structionists  in  Congress,  was  chosen  Speaker  in  the 
House.  In  his  Message  President  Monroe  mentioned 
the  war  then  waged  by  Spain  against  her  revolted  col- 
onies, and  declared  that  the  United  States  would  neither 
interfere  in  any  European  war,  nor  tolerate  any  attempt 
by  any  European  power  to  acquire  a  controlling  influ- 
ence in  this  hemisphere.  This  has  since  been  called  the 
Monroe  Doctrine,  and  has  passed  into  a  settled 
rule  of  foreign  policy  for  all  American  political  parties 


94  American  Politics.  [1824 

5.  The  President's  Message  showed  thai  his  views 
had  slightly  changed,  for  he  incidentally  recommended 
Protection  and  Internal   Improvements.     The  Loose 
Constructionists  were  in  a  majority  in  this   Congress, 
and  aftir  a  debate  of  more  than  two  months  the  Tariff 
of  1824  was  adopted  by  very  small  majorities.     It  wat 
an  advance  on  all  preceding  Tariffs  in  its  consistent 
design  to  exclude  foreign  competing  goods  from  Amer 
ican  markets.     It  was  passed  by  the  Northern  mem- 
bers, except  those  from  the  North- East,  against  the 
almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  Southern  members,  who 
considered   it   sectional,  unconstitutional,  and  unjust. 
The   Loose   Constructionists  were  also   successful  in 
passing  a  bill  for  surveys  for  a  National  Canal  Sys- 
tem.    Congress  adjourned  May  27th,  1824. 

6.  An  effort  was  made  at  this  Session  by  the  friends 
of  William   H.   Crawford,  of  Georgia,  to   revive  the 
Caucus  System  of  nomination  for  the  Presidency. 
Very  few  members  of  Congress  obeyed  their  call  for  a 
caucus,  and  Crawford's  nomination  by  this  body  really 
injured  his  chances  of  success.     As  there  were  no  rec- 
ognized parties,  the  Presidential  election  degenerated 
into  a  personal  contest,  in  which  the  leading  candidate.) 
were  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  Speaker  of  the  House, 

ohn  Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  o! 
State,  William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  Andrew  Jackson,  a  private  citizen  of 
Tennessee.1  Clay  and  Adams  were  Loose  Construc- 
tiouists.  Crawford  and  Jackson  were  Strict  Construc- 
tionists, but  Jackson  was  objectionable  to  the  Cra\vforc 

1  Hence  it  is  known  as  "  the  scrub  race  for  the  Presidency." 


4824.]          The  Presidential  Election,  95 

faction,  on  account  of  his  leaning  toward  a  Piotective 
Tariff.  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,,  Secretary 
of  War,  was  generally  supported  for  the  Vice- Presi- 
dency by  the  frieiids  of  all  the  other  candidates.  The 
Presidential  Election  in  November  gave  no  candi- 
date a  majority  of  all  the  electors  chosen,  and  therefore 
left  the  President  to  be  chosen  by  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

7.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1824.     The  yet  un- 
XVIIIth  Congress,     decided  Presidential  election 
ad  Session.  was    almost   the   only   party 

contest  of  the  Session.  In  February,  1825,  the  elect- 
oral votes  were  counted  and  were  found  to  be,  for 
President,  99  for  Andrew  Jackson,  84  for  John  Quincy 
Adams,  41  for  William  H.  Crawford,  and  37  for  Henry 
Clay,  and,  for  Vice-President,  182  for  John  C,  Calhoun, 
and  78  for  various  other  persons.  Calhoun  was  there 
fore  declared  elected  Vice-President,  and  the  House 
proceeded  to  choose  a  President  from  the  three  highest 
candidates,  each  State  having  one  vote.  As  Clay  stood 
fourth  on  the  list  he  was  not  eligible,  and  it  was  natural 
that  he  and  his  friends  should  unite  on  John  Quincy 
Adams,  the  other  Loose  Constructionist  candidate 
Through  this  coalition  13  States  voted  for  Adams,  7 
for  Jackson,  and  4  for  Crawford.  Adams  was  there- 
fore declared  elected  President.  The  feeling  excited 
by  this  result  still  further  increased  the  division  be- 
tween the  Strict  Constructionists  and  the  Loose  Con- 
structionists,  who  were  soon  to  be  openly  opposing 
parties.  March  3d,  1825,  Congress  adjourned,  and 
March  4th  Adams  and  Calhoun  were  sworn  into  dffice 


CHAPTER  XI. 

TENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1825-1829. 

(dba  Quiicy  Adams,  President.      John  C.  Calhoun,  Vice-President 
XlXth  and  XXth  Congresses. 

1.  FROM  the  very  beginning  of  this  Administration 
both  factions  of  the  Strict  Constructionists  united  in  an 
opposition  to  the   President,  which  became   stronger 
through  his  whole  term  of  office,  until  it  overcame  him. 
His  ill-advised  Nomination  of  Clay  to  a  post  in  his 
Cabinet  gave  color  to  the  charge  of  a  corrupt  bargain 
between  him  and  Clay,  by  which  Adams  was  to  receive 
the  Clay  vote  in  the  House,  and  Clay  was  to  be  re- 
ward ad  by  the  position  of  Secretary  of  State,  which 
was  then  usually  considered  a  stepping  stone  to  the 
Presidency.     Clay  angrily  denied  any  such   bargain, 
and  the  renewal  of  charges  and  denials,  each  with  its 
appropriate  arguments,  gave  abundant  material  for  de- 
bate. 

2.  The  Clay  and  Adams  factions  soon  united  and 
took  the  distinctive  party  name  of  National  Repub- 
licans.    Some  years  afterward  this  name  was  changed 

06 


1825.]  Organization  of  Parties.  9£ 

to  that  of  Whigs.  They  maintained  the  loose  construe 
tionist  principles  of  the  Federalists,  and,  in  addition,  de^ 
sired  a  Protective  Tariff  and  a  system  of  public  im- 
provements at  national  expense.  This  policy  was  sug- 
gested by  the  President's  Inaugural,  and  repeated  it 
his  first  Message. 

3.  In  October,  1825,  the  Tennessee  Legislature  nom- 
inated Jackson  for  the  Presidency  in  1828,  and  Jack- 
son accepted  the  nomination.  Crawford's  continued 
ill-health  compelled  his  adherents  to  look  elsewhere  for 
a  candidate,  and  they  gradually  united  upon  Jackson. 
At  first  the  resulting  coalition  was  known  as  "  Jackson 
Men,"  but,  as  they  began  to  take  the  character  of  a 
national  party,  they  assumed  the  name  of  Democrats, 
by  which  they  have  since  been  known.  They  main- 
tained the  strict  constructionist  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  though  the  Crawford  faction  in  the  South 
went  further,  and  held  the  extreme  ground  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Resolutions  of  1799.*  This  had  already  borne 
fruit  in  the  case  of  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Chero- 
kee Indians,  in  which  a  collision  had  almost  taken 
place  between  the  State  and  the  Federal  Government. 

4..  Congress  met  December  5th,  1825.  In  the 
XlXth  Congress,  House  John  W.  Taylor,  of  New 

ist  Session.  York,  a  Loose  Constructionist, 
was  chosen  Speaker.  His  small  majority  (99-94)  rep- 
resents the  Administration  majority  in  the  House.  In 
the  Senate  its  majority  was  larger,  but  in  both  bran  zhes 
of  Congress  the  "  Jackson  men  "  and  the  Crawford  fac- 

»  See  page  47. 


98  American  Politics  [1826, 

tion  united  in  a  determined  Opposition.  One-third 
of  the  Session  was  taken  up  by  the  discussion  of  pro- 
posed changes  in  the  manner  of  electing  the  President. 
It  drifted  off  into  an  angry  debate  on  the  '  Clay  a  od 
Adams  bargain,"  and  came  to  no  result.  The  Opposi- 
tion also  made  a  fruitless  effort  to  limit  the  President*! 
appointing  power. 

5.  Most  of  the  measures  proposed  by  the  President 
at  this  Session,  or  known  to  be  favored  by  him,  were 
passed  with   difficulty  or   failed   altogether.      In   the 
Senate  Vice-President  Calhoun,  who  was  disposed  to 
act  with  the  "Jackson  men,"  had  given  them  the  ma 
jority  on  the  committees.     In  the  latter  part  of  this 
Session,  therefore,  the   Senate   took   the  then  unusual 
step  of  depriving  its  presiding  officer  of  the  power  of 
appointing  committees.     Much  time  was  spent  in  de- 
bating the  President's  appointment  of  delegates  to  the 
Congress  of  American  Republics  at  Panama.     It  was 
at  length  approved,  and  forgotten  almost  immediately. 
Appropriations    for   internal    improvements   were   in- 
creased.    Congress  adjourned   May  22d,  1826.     The 
summer  of  1826  was  spent  by  the  opposing  factions  in 
endeavors  to  recruit  or  cement  their  organizations. 

6.  Congress   met    December   4th,    1826.     The   ob- 
XlXth  Congress,     structive  spirit  of  the  Opposi- 

ad  Session.  tion   was   so   determined   that 

few  measures  of  national  importance  were  passed  at 
this  Session.  The  Administration's  supporters  in  the 
House  succeeded  in  passing  a  hill  for  an  inrrease  of 
the  Tariff,  but  the  Vice-President's  casting  vote  de 


1827.]        The  Opposition. — Protection.  99 

feated  it  in  the  Senate.  The  Opposition  intioduced 
bills,  which  were  defeated,  to  divide  a  part  of  the  rev 
enue  among  the  States,  and  to  repay  fines  levied  under 
the  Sedition  Act  of  1798.  Cc/igress  adjourned  March 
3d,  1827. 

7.  This  was  the  only  Session  of  Congress  in  which 
the  Adams  Administration  had  even  a  nominal  majority. 
The  election  for  members  of  the  XXth  Congress 
had  resulted  in  the  success  of  the  Adams  candidates, 
or  National  Republicans,  in  New  England,  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  Ohio,   Indiana,   and   Louisiana.      In   New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Illinois,  and  in  every  Southern 
State,  with  the  exception  of  Louisiana,  the  Jackson 
candidates,  or  Democrats,  were  successful,  and  thus 
obtained  control  of  the  House. 

8.  From  this  time  the  idea  of  a  connected  system 
of  roads  and  canals,  to  be  built  and  maintained  by  the 
Federal  Government,  was  abandoned,  and .  its  advo- 
cates confined  themselves  to  voting  for  isolated  public 
improvements  in  various  parts  of  the  country.     But 
the  demand  for  a  higher  Tariff  than  that  of  1824  was 
brought  still  more  strongly  into  politics  bv  a  National 
Convention  of   Protectionists,  at    Harrisburgh, 
Pa.,  July  3oth,  1827.     Many  of  the  Democratic  mem- 
bers elect  to  the  XXth  Congress  from  the  North  sup- 
ported the  National  Republicans  in  their  demand  for 
Protection.     The  Strict  Constructionists  from  the  South 
were  in  favor  of  a  Tariff  for  revenue  only.     The  divi- 
sion upon  this  point  was  therefore  booming  one  of 
sections,  rather  than  of  parties. 


lOO  American  Politics.  ['827 

9.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1827.    In  the  House 
XXth  Congress,     Andrew  Stevenson,  of  Virginia,  a 

ist  Session.  Democrat,  was  chosen  Speaker, 
This  gave  the  Opposition  the  organization  of  the 
House  and  the  appointment  of  its  committees.  In  the 
Senate  the  hitherto  doubtful  members  at  once  oined 
the  Democrats,  and  the  Opposition  became  a  majorit 
there  also.  The  Debates  at  this  Session  were  almost 
entirely  political.  A  proposition  to. order  a  painting 
of  Jackson's  successful  battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  a 
counter  proposition  to  investigate  his  execution  of  six 
insubordinate  militiamen,  were  solemnly  debated  for  9 
month.  The  increased  expenditure  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  also  the  subject  of  long  debate  without  re- 
sult. 

10.  The  most  important  event  of  this  Session  was 
the  success  of  the  Protectionists  in  passing  the  Tariff 
of  1828,  after  a  debate  of  six  weeks.     It  was  so  pro- 
tective as  to  be  satisfactory  to  manufacturers  and  very 
objectionable  to  the  Southern  States,  where  it  was  con- 
sidered a  legalized  robbery.     From  this  time  the  Nulli- 
fication doctrine  of  the  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1799 
gained  strength  rapidly  in  the  South.     Congress  ad- 
journed May  26th.  1828. 

11.  The  Democratic  candidates  for  the  Presidential 
election  in  1828  were  Andrew  Jackson,  of  Tennessee, 
and  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina.     The  Na- 
tional    Republican     candidates    were    John    Quincy 
Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Richard  Rush,  of  Penn- 
sylvania.1    The  candidates  on  both  sides  were  nomi- 

'  It  wUl  be  noticed  that  the  candidates  of  Doth  parties  w  ere  '  sectional  ' 


1 828.]  Presidcnti.il  Election.  101 

nated  by  common  consent,  or  by  State  Legislatures 
The  system  of  Congressional  caucuses  had  been  aban 
doned,  and  that  of  National  Conventions  had  not  yet 
been  adopted.  The  Presidential  Election  in  No 
\ember  resulted  in  the  complete  success  of  the  Demo- 
cratic electors. 

J2.  Congress   met    December    ist,    1828.      In   his 
XXth  Congress,     Message   the   President   for  the 

2d  Session.  first  time  earnestly  advocated 
Protection.  This  Session  was  uneventful,  as  is  usually 
the  case  after  an  exciting  Presidential  election.  The 
Democratic  majority  were  not  disposed  to  obstruct  the 
Administration  while  engaged  in  putting  its  affairs  in 
order  for  its  successor.  After  long  debate  upon  their 
constitutionality,  unusually  large  appropriations  were 
voted  for  Internal  Improvements,  and  approved 
by  the  President.  In  February,  1829,  the  electoral 
votes  were  counted,  and  were  found  to  be,  for  Presi- 
dent, 178  for  Jackson,  and  83  for  Adams,  and,  for 
Vice-President,  171  for  Calhoun,  7  for  William  Smith, 
of  South  Carolina,  and  83  for  Rush.  Jackson  and 
Calhoun  were  therefore  declared  elected.  March  3d, 
1829,  Congress  adjourned,  and  March  4th 
»nd  Calhoun  were  swore  into  office. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

XLEVENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1829-1833. 

Aairew  Jackson,  President.  John  C.  Calhoun,  Vice-Preside  It 

XXIst  and  XXIId  Congresses. 

Popular  -vote  for  President  in  1828  .-1  Jackson  (Dem.) 
647,231,  Adams  (Nat.  Rep.)  509,097. 

i.  Jackson's  First  Administration  was  stormy 
in  both  foreign  and  domestic  relations.  Serious  disa- 
greements with  England  as  to  commerce  with  hei 
colonies  and  the  boundary  between  Maine  and  British 
America,  and  with  France  as  to  the  payment  of  the 
long  standing  indemnity  for  French  spoliations,  re- 
peatedly threatened  war,  but  were  all  peaceably  settled. 
At  home  the  Administration  was  engaged  in  constant 
struggle  with  its  opponents,  the  National  Republicans, 
'Jn  Anti-Masons,  and  the  United  States  Bank,  and 
was  abandoned  by  a  part  of  its  own  party  .  the  Loose 
Construed onists,  who  advocated  Protection  anr1  In- 
ternal Im}  rovements,  and  the  Nullificaticnists.  The 

1  Hitherto  electors  had  been  generally  chosen  by  the  State  Legislature*. 
After  1824  they  were  chosen  generally  by  popular  vote.  Scuth  Carolina  co» 
tinued  to  choose  electors  by  State  Legislature  until  1868. 


1829.]  Strife  ~f  Parties.  103 

President's  final  success  came  from  the  impossibility  of 
a  hearty  union  of  his  opponents,  though  many  doubt 
ful  voters  were  attracted  to  him  by  his  military  achieve- 
ments, by  the  undoubted  sincerity  of  his  intentions, 
and  by  natural  sympathy  for  one  man  contending 
against  odds. 

2.  The  National  Republicans  were  in  a  minority 
in  1829,  but  were  continually  reinforced  by  loose  con 
structionist  Democrats.     They  never  became  a  majority 
party,  but,  by  combining  with  the  other  elements  of 
opposition,  were  frequently  able  to  thwart  the  Presi- 
dent's plans,  and  even  to  censure  his  actions.     Their 
leader  was  Henry  Clay,  now  Senator  from  Kentucky, 
His  popularity  with  his  party  was  already  great,  though 
not  so  unbounded  as  afterward,  when  the  Whig  party 
almost  became  Clay's  personal  party. 

3.  In  1826  William  Morgan,  of  Batavia,  New  York, 
who  had  advertised  a  book  exposing  the  secrets  of 
Free  Masonry,  was  kidnapped  and  never  seen  again. 
The  crime  was  charged  upon  the  society,  and  investi- 
gation, as  it  was  alleged,  was  impeded  by  leading  Free 
Masons.      A   party  soon   grew  up  in  Western  New 
York,  pledged   to   oppose  the  election  of  any   Free 
Mason  to  public  office.     The  Anti- Masonic  Party 
acquired  influence  in  other  States,  and  began  to  claim 
rank  as  a  national  political  party.     On  most  points  its 
principles  were   those  of  the   National    Republicans. 
But  Clay,  as  well  as  Jackson,  was  a  Free  Mason,  and 
consequently  to  be  opposed  by  this  party.1 

'  In  1832  it  even  nominated  a  Presidential  tir.ket  of  its  own,  but,  having  uf 
tationa'l  principle  cf  controlling  importance,  ir  soon  after  declined. 


104  American  Politics.  [1829 

4.  Financial  mismanagement,  and  the  distress  grow- 
ing out  of  the  War  of   1812,  had  compelled  Repub 
licans  in  1816  to  abandon  their  strict  construction is1 
principles  and  charter  a  National  Bank  for  twenty 
years.     It  was   empowered   to   hold   $55,000,000   in 
property,  to  issue  $35,000,000  in  notes  receivable  by 
the  United  States  as  cash  for  all  debts,  had  the  use 
without  interest  of  the  United  States  revenues  deposited 
with  it,  and  was  not  amenable  to  State  Laws.     It  had 
friends  and  dependents  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  some 
seated  in  Congress,  and  many  prominent  in  both  par- 
ties.    Its  power  seemed  to  Jackson  anti-democratic, 
and  his  first  Message  opened  upon  it  a  war  which  soon 
drove  it  into  politics,  and  ultimately  destroyed  it. 

5.  Among  Jackson's  warmest  supporters  were  many 
who  were  sufficiently  loose  constructionist  in  opinion 
to  support   Protection   and   Internal   Improve- 
ments.    Jackson  himself  had  formerly  been  no  op- 
ponent of  either,  and  on  that  account  had  been  objec- 
vionable  to  the  Crawford  faction.     His  increasing  dis- 
like to  both  became  apparent  soon  after  the  meeting 
of  Congress  in  1829,  and  alienated  many  of  his  sup- 
porten.     But  these  very  generally  returned  to  his  sup- 

.  port  when  he  had  yielded  to  necessity,  and,  at  least  i 
appearance,  ceased  his  opposition  to  their  favorit 
measures. 

6.  The  extreme  Democracy  of  the  South  had  only 
accepted  Jackson  because  of  the  loss  of  their  forme1 
leader,  Crawford.     As  the  progress  of  Jackson's  Ad 
<ninistration  showed  th?t  he  could  not  be  relied  upo* 


1829.]  Removals  from  Office  105 

as  a  representative  of  their  determined  hostility  to  Pro- 
tection, they  learned  to  regard  Vice-President  Calhoun 
as  their  leader.  They  had  already  acted  upon  the 
doctrines  of  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  Resolutions  of 
J798,1  and  the  States  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina, 
through  their  Legislatures,  had  protested  against  tha 
Tariff  of  1828  as  unjust  and  unconstitutional.  Find- 
ing that  this  protest  had  no  effect  upon  other  States  or 
upon  Congress,  they  advanced,  during  Jackson's  first 
Administration,  to  the  ground  taken  by  the  Kentucky 
Resolutions  of  I799,2  affirming  the  right  of  any  State  to 
declare  null  and  void  any  Act  of  Congress  which,  the 
State  being  judge,  appeared  unconstitutional.  This 
was  the  doctrine  of  Nullification,  which  grew  to 
Secession  in  1860. 3 

7.  After  the  first  great  party  overthrow  in  the  United 
States,  the  new  President,  Jefferson,  though  he  found 
many  Federalists  in  office,  had  been  able  to  trust  to 
time  and  the  assured  future  supremacy  of  his  party  to 
bring  about  a  change  of  occupants  of  public  offices. 
Successive  Presidents  of  the  same  political  belief  saw 
no  necessity  of  changes.  But  Jackson,  following  a 
President  who  had  almost  created  a  hostile  party,  and 
being  opposed  by  so  many  open  and  concealed  ene- 
mies, decided  to  fill  every  vacancy  with  a  partizan  of 
the  Administration,  and,  further,  to  create  vacancies, 
whenever  it  should  seem  of  party  advantage,  by  exer- 

1  See  page  46.  *  See  page  47. 

*  Its  announcement  in  1832  drew  from  Madison  a  protest  agaks    the  use  • 
leffcrson's  name  "  as  a  pedestal  for  this  colossal  herssy." 


106  American  Politics. 

cising  the  aluost  unused  privilege  of  Removal  fronj 
Office.  This  made  necessary,  during  the  summer  of 
1829,  the  application  of  the  comparatively  novel  theory 
of  "  rotation  in  office,"1  by  which  nearly  500  postmas- 
ters were  removed  during  Jackson's  first  year  of  office 
The  practice  thus  begun  in  self-defense  has  since  been 
adopted  by  all  parties  in  all  elections,  great  and  small, 
national  and  local. 

8.  Congress  met   December  yth,  1829,  with  a  Dem- 
XXIst  Congress,     ocratic  majority  in  both  branches. 

ist  Session.  In  the  House  Andrew  Steven- 
son was  again  chosen  Speaker.  But  his  overwhelming 
majority  (152-39)  did  not  long  cohere.  The  Presi- 
dent's Message  avoided  the  Tariff  question,  and 
advised  the  election  of  President  and  Vice-President 
directly  by  the  people,  an  inquiry  into  the  constitu- 
tionality and  advisability  of  renewing  the  Bank's  char- 
ter in  1836,  and  the  distribution  of  surplus  revenue 
among  the  States  in  preference  to  using  it  for  Internal 
Improvements.  Such  recommendat'ons  were  enough 
to  alienate  many  supporters  of  the  Administration  at 
once,  and  the  committees  to  which  they  were  referred 
reported  in  flat  opposition  to  the  President's  views. 

9.  In  the   Senate  a  resolution  was  introduced  by 
Foot,  of  Connecticut,  directing  an  inquiry  into  the  ex 
pediency  of  limiting  public  land  sales  in  future.     The 
debate  upon  this  apparently  harmless  resolution  lasted 
intermittently  for  five  months,  and  drifted  off  to  a  great 

1  Stated  by  Marcy,  of  New  York,  in  the  Senate,  as  the  axiom  tnat  "tli« 
spoiii  of  the  enemy  belong  to  th«  victor." 


1830.]         Debate  jn  Foot's  Resolution.  107 

variety  of  subjects,  such  as  Slavery,  Western  £.:  d  South 
srn  grievances,  New  England  Federalism,  the  rela 
live  powers  of  the  State  and  Federal  Governments,  and 
Nullification.  During  its  progress,  in  February,  183^ 
the  doctrine  of  Nullification  was  formally  announced 
by  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina,  in  reply  to  Webster,  of 
Massachusetts,  but  limited,  as  yet,  to  peaceable  resist 
ance.  The  eloquence,  learning,  and  party  zeal  of  the 
"  Great  Debate  in  the  Senate,"  as  it  has  always 
been  called,  make  it  almost  a  political  history  of  the 
United  States  up  to  its  date. 

10.  The  case  of  the  Cherokee  Indians  in  Georgia 
was  introduced  at  this  Session.     Under  treaties  with 
the  United  States  these  Indians  held  lands  desired  by 
the  State.     Acts  were  passed  by  the  Legislature  to 
open  up  the  Indian  country  to  white  settlers,  against 
the  protest  of  the  Indians.     To  settle  the  trouble  an 
Act  vvas  passed  at  this  Session  to  pay  the  Indians  for 
their  lands  and  to  remove  them  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
It  was  opposed  with  much  feeling  by  the   National 
Republicans,  and  failed  to  accomplish  its  purpose,  for 
the  Indians  refused  to  sell  their  lands. 

11.  A  bill  was  passed  at  this  Session  authorizing  a 
Government  subscription  to  the  stock  of  the  Mays- 
ville  Turnpike  Road  in  Kentucky.     The  President, 
believing  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  pass  such  a 
aw,  vetoed  it.     Two  days  before  the  adjournment  of 
Congress  two  bills  of  a  similar  nature  to  that  of  the 
Maysville  Turnpike  bill  were  passed.     The  President 
could  legally  retain  them  for  ten  days  before  signing 


IO8  American  Politics.  [1830 

them.  He  did  so,  and  in  the  interval  came  the  day 
previously  fixed  for  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  whila 
the  bills  remained,  as  it  were,  in  the  President's  pocket, 
without  force  of  law.  This  new  method  of  veto,  an- 
grily called  a  Pocket  Veto,  was  employed  by  the 
President  on  several  occasions  afterward.  Congress 
adjourned  May  3ist,  1830. 

12.  April  1 3th,  1830,  the  leading  Democrats  at  Wash- 
ington gave  a  dinner  to  celebrate  Jefferson's  Birth- 
day.    At  the  close  of  the  regular  toasts,  which  had 
been  so  drawn  as  to  suggest  Nullification,  the   Presi- 
dent rebuked  the  whole  proceeding  by  giving  a  volun- 
leer  toast,  "  Our  Federal  Union  :  it  must  be  preserved." 
The  Vice-President  retorted  with  another  to  "  Liberty, 
dearer   than   the    Union."     These   counter    defiances 
called  the  attention  of  the  whole  country  to  the  prog- 
ress of  Nullification  among    Democratic   leaders,  and 
indirectly  gave  the  Nullificationists  warning  to  regard  the 
President  as  an  obstacle  to  their  designs.     Calhoun, 
for  whom  Jackson  had  previously  had  a  high  regard, 
and  from  whose  friends  he  had  in  great  part  formed  his 
Cabinet,  recognized  the  President's  growing  suspicion 
and  dislike  of  him,  and  spent  the  summer  of  1830  in 
obtaining    materials,   by   letter   and    otherwise,   for  a 
pamphlet  criticism  of  Jackson's  course  in  the  Seminole 
War  of  1818. 

13.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1830.     The  Prest- 
XXIst  Congress,     dent's    Message  again  attacked 

2d  Session.          the   Bank,  and   argued   againsl 
the  power  of  Congress  to  vote  public  money  for  anj 


1831.]        Breaking  up  of  the  Cabinet.  109 

internal  improvement  whicli  was  local  in  iis  nat  ire,  and 
not  beneficial  to  the  country  at  large.  The  temper  of 
Congress  was  not  that  of  the  President.  A  Harbor 
Improvement  Bill  was  at  once  introduced  and 
passed  by  majorities  so  large  that  the  President  yielded 
and  signed  it.  He  also  signed  other  bills  of  a  similar 
nature,  making  large  appropriations  for  the  improve- 
ment of  roads  and  rivers,  and  for  a  light-he  jse  system., 
Much  of  this  Session  was  taken  up  by  the  impeachment 
and  trial  of  Judge  Peck,  of  Missouri,  which  had  no 
political  bearing.  Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1831 

14.  The   long  promised  attack  upon  the  President 
by  Vice- President  Calhoun  appeared  in  March,  1831, 
and  was  followed  by  the  Breaking  up  of  the  Cabi- 
net.    Its  Calhoun  element  had  for  a  long  time  lost  the 
confidence  of  the    President,  who   apparently  trusted 
more  to  the  advice  of  Van  Buren,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  some  private  friends,  commonly  called  the  Kitchen 
Cabinet.     Van  Buren,  to  whose  machinations  Calhoun 
attributed   the  bad  feeling   between  himself  and  the 
President,  at  once  resigned,  and  the  other  members  of 
the  Cabinet,  by  request,  folbwed  his  example.1 

15.  Congress  met  December  5th,  1831.     The  Sen- 
XXI Id  Congress,     ate,   though    doubtful    at   first, 

ist  Session.  proved  to  have  an  Opposition 
majority.  In  the  house  Speaker  Stevenson,  the  Ad- 
ministration candidate,  was  re-elected  by  one  vote 
(98—97).  The  President's  Message  attacked  the  Bank 

1  It  was  commonly  believed,  however,  that  the  breaking  up  of  tin  Cabinet 
•ras  precipitated  by  trouble  between  the  families  of  its  mem  icrs. 


no  American  Politics. 

for  the  third  time,  and,  although  its  charter  still  had 
five  years  to  run,  it  felt  compelled  to  begin  the  conflict 
It  therefore  made  application  for  a  renewal  of  its  char- 
ter. The  President's  supporters  in  the  House  asked 
for  an  investigation  of  the  affairs  of  the  Bank.  Tha 
committee  appointed  for  this  purpose  made  two  re- 
ports, the  majority  approving,  and  the  minority  con- 
demning, the  Bank's  management.  After  long  debate 
the  bill  to  renew  the  charter  passed  both  Houses,  and 
was  vetoed  by  the  President,  July  icth,  1832.  An  ef- 
fort to  pass  it  over  the  veto  lacked  a  two-thirds  ma- 
jority, and  failed.  The  veto  made  many  new  friends 
and  many  new  enemies  for  the  President,  but  orJy  in 
creased  the  bitterness  of  the  struggle  between  him  and 
the  Bank. 

16.  In  January,  1832,  the  Nomination  of  Mar- 
tin   Van   Buren,  of  New   York,  late   Secretary   of 
State,  to  be  Minister  to  England,  came  up  in  the  Sen- 
ate for  confirmation.     His  nomination  was  rejected,  al- 
though he  was  already  in  England.     The  vote  was  so 
arranged  as  to  make  a  tie  (23-23),  thus  giving  Vice- 
President  Calhoun  the  "  vengeance  "  of  a  casting  vote 
on  the  rejection.     The  spiteful  feeling  shown  by  some 
of  the  Opposition  probably  made  the  rejection  rather  a 
benefit  to  Van  Buren. 

17.  At  this  Session  a  bill  was  passed  and  signed  by 
the  President,  appropriating  $1,200,000  for  Internal 
Improvements.     Another  bill  of  a  similar  nature 
was  also  passed,  but  was  killed  by  a  "pocket  veto." 
The  Tariff  of  1832  \va,;  passed  and  signed  by  the 


1832.]  National  Conventions.  ill 

President.  It  was  intended  and  expected  to  pacify  tho 
continued  discontent  in  the  South,  particularly  in  South 
Carolina.  This  it  failed  to  accomplish,  for,  though  it 
reduced  the  duties  of  1828,  it  still  recognized  the/wz- 
dple  of  Protection.  Congress  adjourned  July  i4th, 
1832. 

1 8.  Presidential   nominations  were  made   this  year 
for  the  first  time  by  all  the  parties  in  National   Con- 
ventions.    All  three  Conventions  were  held  at  Balti- 
more.    That  of  the  Anti-Masons  was  held  first,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1831,  in  the  hope  of  compelling  the  National 
Republicans   to   abandon    Clay,  and   adopt  the  Anti 
Masonic  candidates.     Judge  McLean,  of  Ohio,  having 
declined  a  nomination,  William  Wirt,  of  Virginia,  and 
Amos  Ellmaker,  of  Pennsylvania,  were  nominated.     In 
December,  1831,  the  National  Republican  Convention 
nominated  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  and  John  Ser- 
geant, of  Pennsylvania.     The  platform  pronounced  in 
favor  of  Internal   Improvements,  Protection,  and  the 
Bank,  and  against  the  Administration  and  its  course  in 
the  Cherokee  case.     Jackson  had  already  (in  February, 
1830)  been   renominated   for  the   Presidency  by  his 
friends  in  the  New  York  Legislature.     In  March,  1832, 
the  Democratic   National   Convention  confirmed  this 
renomination,  and  nominated  Martin   Van  Buren,  of 
New  York,  for  the  Vice-Presidency.     For  his  success 
in  gaining  the  nomination  Van  Buren  was  indebted  to 
Calhoun's  "  vengeance." 

19.  In  the  Presidential   Ele(5Uon  in  November 
South  Carolina  held  sullenly  oflf  from  both  parties  and 


£12  American  Politics.  [1832, 

chose  electois  pledged  to  candidates  of  her  own,  John 
Floyd,  of  Virginia,  and  Henry  Lee,  of  Massachusetts. 
Anti-Masonic  electors  were  chosen  by  Vermont  alone. 
All  the  other  States,  with  the  exception  of  six,  chose 
Democratic  electors.  But  Jaekson's  popular  majority 
was  smaller  than  at  his  first  election,  and  the  Opposi 
tion,  if  it  had  been  possible  to  unite  it,  might  have  de 
feated  him. 

20.  Southern  politicians  had  perhaps  only  aimed  al 
obtaining  the  repeal  of  the  Tariff  of  1828  by  threats  of 
Nullification  and  Secession.  But  when  the  modified 
Tariff  of  1832  showed  that  Protection  in  some  form 
was  to  be  the  settled  policy  of  the  Government,  they 
had  lost  control  of  their  constituents,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  follow  the  current.  In  the  case  of  the  Chero- 
kee Indians,  the  State  of  Georgia  had  already  nullified 
an  Act  of  Congress,  and  refused  obedience  to  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court.  Emboldened  by  this 
example,  and  by  the  belief  that  the  passage  of  Federal 
troops  across  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  would  be 
forcibly  resisted  by  those  States,  a  State  Convention, 
held  at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  November  igth,  1832,  form- 
ally declared  the  Tariffs  of  1828  and  1832  to  be  "null, 
void,  and  no  law,  nor  bindiig  upon  South  Carolina, 
icr  officers  and  citizens,"  made  any  appeal  to  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  a  punishable  offense,  pre- 
scribed an  oath  of  obedience  to  this  ordinance  to  be 
taken  by  all  jurors  and  State  officers,  and  concluded 
with  a  warning  to  the  other  States  that  any  attempt  at 
force  would  be  follpwed  by  the  secession  of  South 


1832.]  Nullification*  113 

Carolina  irom  the  Union.  The  Ordinai.ee  of  Nul- 
lification was  to  take  effect  February  ist,  1833.  In 
November  the  State  Legislature  met  and  proceeded  to 
make  the  State  ready  for  war,  and  to  pass  various  Acts 
<e-assuming  those  powers  which  had  been  expressly 
bandoned  under  the  Constitution. 

21.  December  i6th,  1832,  the  President  issued  his 
Proclamation  to  the  people  of  South  Carolina.     It 
reviewed  the  history  of  Nullification,  showed  its  treason, 
danger,  and  folly,  and  declared  his  unflinching  purpose 
of  carrying  out  the  laws  in  the  face  of  any  resistance 
whatever.     He  followed  up  his  words  by  occupying 
Charleston  Harbor  with  a  naval  force,  and  providing 
guards  for  the  protection  of  officials  engaged  in  collect 
ing  the  revenue  under  the  Tariff  of  1832. 

22.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1832.     Soon  after- 
XXIId  Congress,     ward  Calhoun  resigned  the  Vice- 
ad  Session.  Presidency,  and  became  Senator 

from  South  Carolina.  Early  in  1833  he  took  an  op- 
portunity to  declare  that  his  State  had  never  intended 
forcible  resistance  to  the  Federal  Government,  and  a 
meeting  of  leading  Nullifiers  in  Charleston  decided  to 
yield  to  the  collection  of  the  revenue  until  after  the  ad- 
journment of  Congress.  At  this  Session  a  Bill  for 
Enforcing  the  Tariff1  was  passed  and  signed  by 
the  President.  It  provoked  much  angry  declamation 
in  South  Carolina,  but  no  secession.  Alter  long  dis- 
cussion of  various  proposed  modifications  of  the  Tariff, 

1  Commonly  called,  in  South  Carolina,  the  "Bloody  Bill."     Its  opponent! 
hi  tho  Senate  refused  to  vote,  with  ihe  exception  of  John  Tyler,  of  Vitgiuia. 

8 


114  American  Politics. 

Clay's  Compromise  Tariff  of  1833  was  passed,  and 
signed  by  the  President  It  provided  for  the  gradual 
reduction  of  the  Tariff  until  1842,  after  which  year  the 
duties  on  all  goods  were  to  be  20  per  cent.  The  Nul- 
ificationists  claimed  this  as  a  complete  triumph,  and 
the  Anti-Tariff  excitement  in  South  Carolina  ended  at 
once. 

23.  Not  even  Nullification  could  compel  the  Presi- 
dent to  desist  for  a  time  from  his  warfare  upon  the 
United   States  Bank.     In  hi*  Message  at  this  Ses 
sion  he  astonished  Congress  and  the  country  by  ex- 
pressing doubts  of  the  solvency  of  the  Bank.     He  rec- 
ommended a  cessation  of  the  deposits  of  United  States 
revenue  in  it,  and  a  sale  of  the  stock  belonging  to  the 
United  States.     Both  these  propositions  were  easily  de- 
feated  by   the    Congressional    friends   of   the   Bank. 
Clay's  bill  for  the  loan  to  the  States  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  sales  of  public  lands  was  passed,  but  was  disposed 
of  by  a  "  pocket  veto." 

24.  In    February,    1833,   the   electoral  votes  were 
counted,  and  were  found  to  be,  for  President,  219  foi 
Jackson,  49  for  Clay,  1 1  for  Floyd,  and  7  for  Wirt,  and, 
for  Vice- President,  189  for  Van  Buren,  30  for  William 
Wilkins,  of  Pennsylvania,  49  for  Sergeant,  n  for  Lee, 
and  7  for  Ellmaker.    Jackson  and  Van  Buren  were 
therefore  declared  elected.     March  2d,  1833,  Congress 
adjourned,  and  March  4th  Jackson  and   Van  Burer 
were  sworn  info  office. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TWELFTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1833-1837. 

Andrew  Jackson,  President.          Martin  Van  Buren,  Vice-President 
XXIIId  and  XXIVth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1832  :   Jackson  (Dem.) 
687,502,  Clay  (Nat.  Rep.)  530,189. 

1.  THE  Acl  of  1816,  which  created  the  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  required   that  the  public  moneys 
should  be  deposited  in  it,  subject  to  removal  at  any 
time  on  the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with 
the  proviso  that  the  Secretary  should  afterwards  give 
Congress  his  reasons  for  such  removal.     At  the  last 
Session  the  President  had  recommended  Congress  to 
order  the  removal  of  the  deposits  from  the  Bank,  and 
Congress,  by  large   majorities,  had  refused  to  do  so. 
The  President,  taking  his  re-election  as  a  popular  ap- 
proval of  his  war  upon  the  Bank,  now  determined  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  removal  himself. 

2.  With  this  view  he  removed  (in  the  Spring  of  1833^ 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  would  not  consent 
to  remove   the.  deposits,   and   appointed   William   J 

"5 


n6  American  Politics.  [1833 

Duane,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  his  place,  lie  pr  ived  tti 
be  no  more  compliant  than  his  predecessor.  Aftei 
many  attempts  to  persuade  him,  the  President  an- 
nounced to  the  Cabinet  his  final  decision  that  the  de- 
posits must  be  removed.  The  Reasons  given  were 
that  the  law  gave  the  Secretary,  not.  Congress,  control 
of  the  deposits,  that  it  was  improper  to  leave  them 
longer  in  a  bank  whose  charter  would  so  soon  expire, 
that  the  Bank's  funds  had  been  largely  used  for  polit- 
ical purposes,  that  its  inability  to  pay  all  its  depositors 
had  been  shown  by  its  efforts  to  procure  an  extension 
of  time  from  its  creditors  in  Europe,  and  that  its  four 
Government  directors  had  been  systematically  kept 
from  knowledge  of  its  management.  Secretary  Duane 
refused  either  to  remove  the  deposits  or  to  resign  his 
office,  and  pronounced  the  proposed  removal  unneces- 
sary, unwise,  vindictive,  arbitrary,  and  unjust.  He  was 
at  once  removed  from  office,  and  Roger  B.  Taney,  of 
Maryland,  appointed  in  his  place. 

3.  The  necessary  Orders  for  Removal  were  given 
by  Secretary  Taney.  It  was  not  strictly  a  removal,  for 
all  previous  deposits  were  left  in  the  Bank,  to  be  drawn 
upon  until  exhausted.  It  was  rather  a  cessation.  The 
deposits  were  afterwards  made  in  various  State  banks,' 
and  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  compelled  to 
call  in  its  loans.  The  commercial  distress  which  fol 
lowed  in  consequence  probably  strengthened  the  Presi- 
dent in  the  end  by  giving  a  convincing  proof  of  the 
Bank's  power  as  an  antagonist  to  the  Government. 

1  Communly  called  the  "  pet  banks." 


'833-1  Censure  of  the  President.  1 1 7 

4.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1833.     In  the  Sen 
XXIIId  Congress,     ate   the   still   existing  alliance 

ist  Session.  between  the  National  Repub- 

licans and  the  Calhoun  States  Rights  Democracy 
formed  a  majority  against  the  Administration  and  in 
favor  of  the  Bank.  In  the  House  the  strong  Adminis- 
tration majority  was  shown  by  the  re-election  of  Speaker 
Stevenson,  Democrat,  (142-61).  The  President's  Mes- 
sage and  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
defended  the  removal  of  the  deposits.  In  the  Senate 
Clay  at  once  introduced  condemnatory  resolutions, 
which  were  debated  for  three  months  and  then  passed. 
The  first  declared  the  reasons  given  for  the  removal  to 
be  unsatisfactory  and  insufficient.  The  second  was 
modified  during  the  debate  into  a  declaration  that  the 
President  by  removing  the  deposits  "  had  assumed 
upon  himself  authority  and  power  not  conferred  by  the 
Constitution  and  laws,  but  in  derogation  of  both."  To 
ihe  Senate's  Resolution  of  Censure  the  President 
replied  by  a  protest,  on  the  ground  that  it  accused  him 
of  perjury  in  violating  his  oath  of  office,  and  was  thus 
an  indirect  and  illegal  method  of  impeachment,  a  con- 
demnation against  which  he  had  no  opportunity  to  de- 
fend himself.  The  Senate  refused  to  receive  the  pro- 
test or  place  it  upon  record. 

5.  In  the   House  the  President's  Message  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  investi- 
gate the  affairs  of  the  Bank.     The  majority  report  com- 
plained that  the  powers  of  the  committee  had  been  s'j 
restricted   by  the  Bank  that  a  full  investigation  had 


1 1 8  A  merican  Politics.  [1834 

been  impossible.  The  minority  report  approved  th« 
Bank  and  its  management.  In  April  the  House  passed 
resolutions  that  the  Bank  ought  not  to  be  re-chartered, 
and  that  the  deposits  ought  not  to  be  restored.  In 
June  the  Senate  resolution,  condemning  the  reasons  for 
the  removal  of  the  deposits,  came  to  the  House  for 
concurrence,  and  was  tabled.  The  long  struggle  was 
thus  practically  ended  by  the  Success  of  the  Presi- 
dent. The  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  soon  after- 
ward chartered  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  but  no 
longer  had  the  funds  of  the  United  States  at  its  dis 
posal.1 

6.  Rejections  of  the  President's  Nomina- 
tions by  the  Senate  were  frequent  at  this  Session. 
The  four  Government  Directors  of  the  Bank,  who  had 
joined  the  President  in  attacking  it,  were  renominated 
by  him,  and  rejected.  The  rejected  names  were  again 
sent  to  the  Senate,  and  again  rejected.  No  more  nom- 
inations for  Government  Directors  were  made  at  this 
Session.  Secretary  Taney's  nomination  was  not  sent 
to  the  Senate  until  June,  1834,  and  was  then  rejected. 
Speaker  Stevenson's  nomination  to  be  Minister  to  En- 
gland was  also  rejected.  An  unsuccessful  attempt  was 
made  to  limit  the  President's  appointing  power,  and 
his  appointments  to  office  for  political  reasons  wera 
severely  condemned  by  the  Senate.  A  committee  of 

1  These  were  at  first  deposited  in  various  State  banks.  In  the  Session  of 
1834-35  the  "Sub-Treasury  plan"  was  suggested  by  the  Opposition,  and 
*oted  down  Dy  the  Democrats  Later,  it  was  adopted  by  the  Democrats,  and 
made  law  against  t'le  Whig  eflorts  to  levive  a  National  Bank.  It  luu  sine* 
remained  IP  fore*- 


1 834.]  The  Sub-Treasury  Plan.  i  ig 

the  House  investigated  the  Post  Office  Depart- 
ment at  this  Session,  and  reported  that  it  had  been 
managed  without  frugality,  system,  intelligence,  or  ade- 
quate public  utility.  As  the  investigating  committee 
was  composed  of  supporters  of  the  Administration,  their 
eport  was  decisive.  A  bill  for  reforming  the  Post 
Office  Department  was  introduced  and  passed.  Con- 
gress adjourned  June  3Oth,  1834. 

7.  Congress  met  December   ist,  1834.     There  waf 
XXIIId  Congress,     little  party  contest  at  this  Ses- 

2d  Session.  sion.      Further    appropriations 

were  made  for  Internal  Improvements.  Regula- 
tions were  made  to  govern  the  deposit  of  public  moneys 
in  State  banks.  This  system  of  deposit,  called  the 
State  Bank  System,  still  received  the  support  of 
the  Democrats.  The  Opposition  proposed  at  this  Ses 
sion  the  system  afterwards  known  as  the  "  Sub-Treas 
uiy  plan,"  by  which  agents  of  the  United  States  Treas- 
ury were  to  be  appointed,  wherever  necessary,  to  re- 
ceive and  disburse  United  States  revenue,  giving  suita- 
ble bonds  for  the  performance  of  their  duties.  The 
Sub-Treasury  plan  was  voted  down.  Congress  ad- 
journed March  3d,  1835. 

8.  The  President  wished  Vice-President  Van   Buren 
to  be  his  successor.     He  therefore  recommended  that 
the  Democratic  nomination  should  be  mad«  in  Na- 
tional Convention.     This  was  opposed  by  the  friends 
of  the  other  Democratic  candidate,  Hugh  L.  White,  of 
Tennessee,  who  had  been  nominated  by  the  Alabama 
Legislature     The  convention,  which  met  at  Baltimore 


I2O  American  Politics,  [1835 

in  May,  1835,  was  attended  only  by  Van  Buren  delegates 
It  nominated  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  anc 
Richard  M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  and  adopted  nc 
platform.  The  friends  of  White  supported  John  Tyler 
of  Virginia,  for  Vice- President.  The  National  Repub- 
licans had  by  this  time  generally  adopted  the  name  of 
Whigs.1  They  generally  supported  the  candidates 
nominated  by  the  Whig  and  Anti-Masonic  State  Con- 
ventions of  Pennsylvania,  William  H.  Harrison,  of 
Ohio,  and  Francis  Granger,  of  New  York.  John  Mc- 
Lean, of  Ohio,  and  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts; 
were  also  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  the  Legisla- 
ture of  those  States.  All  these  nominations,  however 
were  made  over  a  year  before  the  Presidential  election 
took  place. 

9.  Congress  met  December  yth,  1835.     In  the  Sen- 
XXIVth  Congress,     ate  the  Opposition,  composed 
ist  Session.  of  Whigs,  Nullification  Dem- 

ocrats, and  Anti-Masons,  were  at  first  a  majority,  but 
the  Administration  gained  a  majority  toward  the  end 
of  the  Session.     In  the  House  there  was  a  strong  Ad- 
ministration  majority,  divided   into   Van   Buren   and 
White  factions.     James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  a  Dem- 
ocrat, was  chosen  Speaker.     The  President's  Messag 
announced  that  the  National  Debt  would  soon  be  pai 
off.     The  expected   Surplus    of   Revenue   caused 
long  debate  in  Congress.     In  June,  1836,  an  Act  was 

1  The  name  seems  to  have  been  first  used  by  them  in  New  Yoik  in  th< 
Wintar  of  1834-35  The  name  "I.oco-foco"  was  at  the  same  time  gheu  U 
I  be  Democrats  by  the  Whigs. 


The  Specie  Circular,  121 

passed  providing  that,  after  January  ist,  1837,  all  sur- 
plus revenue  exceeding  $5,000,000  should  be  divided 
among  the  States  as  a  loan,  only  to  be  recalled  by  di- 
rection of  Congress.1  The  President  signed  the  bill. 
June  i5th,  1836,  Arkansas  became  a  State,  aftei 
some  opposition  to  its  application  as  irregular.  Con- 
gress adjourned  July  4th,  1836. 

10.  After  the  fall  of  the  United  States  Bank  a  nura 
ber  of  State  banks  had  been  formed,  often  without  ade- 
quate capital,  to  supply  the  expected  need  of  paper 
money.     Their  notes  were  used  in  large  quantities  for 
the  purchase  of  public  lands  from  the  United  States, 
and  the  Treasury  was  thus  accumulating  paper  cur- 
rency of  doubtful  worth.     Soon  after  the  adjournment 
of  Congress  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  by  direction 
of  the  President,  issued  the  so-called   Specie  Circu- 
lar, ordering  United  States  agents  to  receive  in  future 
only  gold  and  silver  in  payment  for  lands.     This  caused 
r  demand  for  specie  which  could  only  be  met  by  the 
banks   in  which   the  revenue  was  deposited.     Other 
banks   fell   into   difficulties  which   culminated   in  the 
"Panic  of  1837." 

1 1.  The  Opposition  had  hoped  to  throw  the  Presi- 
dential Election  of  1836  into  the  House,  but  did 
not  succeed  in  doing  so,  for  a  majority  of  Van  Buren 
electors  were  chosen.     The  White  electors  carried  the 
States  of  Georgia  and  Tennessee.     The  Whig  vote  was 
largely  increased  since  the  last  election. 

1  This  distribution  amounted  to  $.28,000,000,  none  of  which  was  ever  TO 
celled.     It  ccaicd  in  1837  (p.  iif,. 


122  American  Politics.  [1837 

12.  Congress  met  December  5th,   1836.      Januarj 
XXIVth  Congress,     26th,    1837,   Michigan   be 

ad  Session.  came  a  State  of  the  Union 

In  the  Senate  this  Session  was  noteworthy  for  the  final 
success  of  the  President's  supporters.  When  Clay' 
Resolution  of  Censure,  against  which  the  President  had 
protested,  was  passed,  Senator  Benton.  of  Missouri,  had 
given  notice  that  he  would  offer  a  resolution  each  year 
to  expunge  it.  At  this  Session  his  resolution  was 
carried  and  put  into  effect  at  once.1 

13.  Texas,  which  had  been  bargained  away  by 
Southern  votes  in  1819,  was  now  a  prize  which  the 
South  longed  to  regain,  as  an  offset  to  the  rapidly  mul- 
tiplying Northern  States.     It  had  become  a  part  of  the 
Mexican  State  of  Coahuila,  had  been  colonized  by 
Americans,  and  had  declared  its  independence.     The 
President's  Message  advised  Congress  not  to  interfere 
in  the  struggle  between  Mexico  and  Texas.     Never- 
theless a  resolution  recognizing  the  independence  ot 
Texas  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  but  failed  in  tht 
House. 

14.  In  1833  the  National  Anti-Slavery  Society 
had  been  formed,  and  :vs  branches  multiplied  rapidly. 
The   renewal    of    the   Slavery   question   alarmed   the 
Southern  States  and  many  of  the  Northern  people 
who  considered  any  attack  upon  Slavery  dangerous  to 
the  peace  of  the  Union.      From  this  time  dates  the 

1  The  Resolution  of  1334  on  the  Senate  Journal  was  marked  around  bj 
cioad  black  Hies,  with  the  inscription  "Expunjed  by  order  cf  the  Seraor 
this  i( th  day  rf  Janua-v,  i?j7." 


*  83  7-1  Slavery.  123 

existence  of  the  party  opposed  to  Slavery  in  the  United 
States,  at  first  known  as  Abolitionists.  A  requisi- 
tion was  made  by  Georgia  upon  the  State  of  New 
York  for  a  leading  Abolitionist,  who  had  been  indictee 
by  a  Georgia  jury,  and  rewards  were  offered  by  citizens' 
committees  in  the  South  for  the  bodies  of  others,  dead 
or  alive,  but  without  success.  Finally  mob  violence 
was  resorted  to  in  Boston  and  other  Northern  cities,  to 
destroy  Abolition  printing  presses,  break  up  Abolition 
meetings,  and  intimidate  Abolition  orators.  At  least 
one  person  (Lovejoy)  was  shot  to  death. 

15.  These  lawless  outrages  only  increased  the  zeal 
of  the  Abolitionists  in  offering  Petitions  to  Con- 
gress to  abolish  Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  in  sending  Abolitionist  books  and  papers  to  every 
part  of  the  country.     At  its  last  Session  the  House 
had  resolved  to  lay  all  future  petitions  on  the  subject 
of  Slavery  upon  the  table,  without  further  action  or 
notice.     At  this  Session  the  President's  Message  made 
indignant  reference  to  the  practice  of  sending  Abolition 
documents    through   the    United    States   mails.      He 
'recommended  a  bill  to  prohibit  the  practice  in  future. 
A  bill  was  consequently  introduced  in  the  Senate,  pro- 
hibiting any  postmaster  from  knowingly  putting  an. 
Abolition   newspapers   or    documents  into  the  mails. 
The  bill  was  rejected. 

1 6.  In   February,    1837,  the   electoral   votes   were 
counted,  and  were  found  to  be,  for  President,  170  foi 
Van  Buren,  73   for  Harrison,   26  for  White,   14  foi 
Webster,  and  1 1  for  W.  P.  Mangum,  of  North  Caro 


124  American  Politics.  I1 837 

lina,  and,  fci  Vice-President,  147  for  Johnson,  77  .fot 
Granger,  47  for  Tyler,  and  23  for  William  Smith,  ot 
Alabama.1  Van  Buren  was  therefore  declared  elect- 
ed President.  No  candidate  having  received  a  ma- 
jority of  all  the  votes  for  Vice-President,  the  Senate 
chose  Richard  M.  Johnson.  President  Jackson 
issued  a  Farewell  Address  to  the  American  People 
before  leaving  office.  March  3d,  1837,  Congress  ad- 
journed, and  March  4th  Van  Buren  and  Johnson  were 
sworn  into  office. 

1  The  three  votes  of  Michigan  for  Van  Buren  and  Jchnson  are  included  if 
the  above  cour  t,  though  the  State  was  not  fully  admitted  until  after  the  eiao 
don.  They  di  1  not  aflbct  thr  res  lit 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THIRTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,   1837-1841. 

Martin  Van  Buren,  President.   Richard  M.Johnson,  Vice-Preside»t 
XXVth  and  XXVIth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in   1836:    Dem.   761,549, 
Combined  Opposition  736,656. 

i.  The  New  Administration  had  taken  Jack- 
son's Cabinet,  and  the  President  had  declared  his  in- 
tention "  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  illustrious 
predecessor."  He  therefore  caught  the  first  full  effects 
of  the  storm  produced  by  Jackson's  financial  policy, 
from  which  even  Jackson's  popularity  and  admitted 
honesty  would  hardly  have  saved  him.  The  excessive 
amount  of  paper  money  in  circulation  had  encouraged 
reckless  speculation,  and  nominally  raised  property  to 
more  than  its  real  value.  The  Specie  Circular  of  1836 
by  reviving  the  demand  for  gold  and  silver,  had  de- 
stroyed most  of  the  banks  which  had  not  Government 
deposits  at  command.  The  demand  for  the  deposits, 
for  distribution  among  the  States,  completed  the  ruin 
of  many  of  the  "pet  banks  "  They  had  treated  th< 

125 


126  American  Politics.  ['837 

deposits  as  capital,  to  be  used  in  loans  to  business  men 
and  now  had  to  return  them. 

2.  The  sudden  calling  in  of  these  loans  began  the 
Panic  of  1837,  to  which  nothing  comparable  had  be- 
fore been  seen  in  America.     Early  in   May  the  Nem 
York  City  banks  refused  to  pay  gold  or  silver  for  theii 
notes,  and  the  New  York  Legislature  authorized  a  sus- 
pension of  specie  payments  throughout   the  State  foi 
one  year.     Banks  in.  other  cities  at  once  suspended. 
May  1 5th,  the    President,  by   Proclamation,  called  an 
Extra  Session  of  Congress,  to  meet  September  4th,  and 
consider  and  secure  the  financial  interests  of  the  Gov- 
ernment.    During  the  summer  of  1837  the  Panic  con- 
tinued  its   course,  wrecking   banks   and  corporations, 
bankrupting  business  men,  and  violently  reducing  fic- 
titious fortunes  to  their  real  value. 

3.  Congress  met  September  4th,  1837.     In  the  Sen- 
XXVth  Congress,     ate  there  was  an  Administra- 

Extra  Session,  tion  majority.  In  the  House 
James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  a  Democrat,  was  re- 
elected  Speaker,  though  the  vote  (116-103)  shows  a 
great  increase  of  Whig  members.  Most  of  the  Calhoun 
Democracy  were  now  supporting  the  Administration. 
The  President's  Message  recommended  that  Gov- 
miment  should  not  interfere  directly  with  the  Panic, 
elieving  that  it  would  finally  right  itself  more  safely 
and  easily.  He  also  recommended  the  adoption  by 
the  Government  of  the  "  Sub-Treasury  plan."1  This 
was  regarded  by  the  Whigs,  and  by  some  of  the  Dem 

1  See  jxage  119.     It  is  otherwise  called  the  "  Independent  Treasury  /an.  ' 


£837-]  The  Sub-Treasury  Bill.  127 

ocrats,  as  an  endeavor  to  break  down  all  the  banks  in 
the  country.  Its  Democratic  opponents  formed  a  tem- 
porary party,  calling  themselves  Conservatives,  and 
generally  voting  with  the  Whigs  on  financial  matters. 
A  bill  for  the  establishment  of  an  Independent  Treasury 
passed  the  Senate,  but  was  tabled  in  the  House  by  a 
combination  of  Whigs  and  Conservatives.  Acts  were 
pissed  to  cease  the  distribution  of  revenue  among  the 
States,  to  authorize  the  issue  of  $10,000,000  in  Treas- 
ury notes,  and  to  give  merchants  further  time  on  theii 
revenue  bonds.  Congress  adjourned  October  r6th. 

4.  Congress  met   December    4th,  1837.     The    bill 
XXVth  Congress,     for  the  establishment  of  an  In- 

ist  Session.  dependent  Treasury  was 
again  pressed  upon  Congress  by  the  Administration. 
It  passed  the  Senate  by  a  small  majority,  and  was  again 
defeated  in  the  House  by  a  Union  of  Whigs  and  Con- 
servatives. The  only  measure  for  the  relief  of  busi- 
ness passed  at  this  Session  was  a  joint  resolution  direct- 
ing the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  receive  the  noteg 
of  specie  paying  banks  in  payment  for  public  lands, 
thus  annulling  the  Specie  Circular.  The  first  open  at- 
tempt to  unite  Texas  to  the  United  States  was  made  al 
this  Session,  but  failed.  Congress  adjourned  July  gth 
1838. 

5.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1838.     There  was 
XXVth  Congress,     little  party  contest  at  this  Ses- 

2d  Session.  sion.  Discussion  was  confined 
mainly  to  the  Seminole  War  in  Florida,  for  whose  pros- 
ecution large  amounts  had  been  voted,  with  little  ap 


128  American  Politics. 

parent  prospect  of  a  successful  termination.  The  ap- 
parent disinclination  of  Congress  and  the  Administra- 
tion to  interfere  in  the  financial  troubles  of  the  country, 
while  it  agreed  with  the  strict  constructionist  theory  of 
the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government,  operated  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  Democratic  party.  Many  of  its 
former  supporters  were  now  ready  to  try  Whig  govern- 
ment. Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1839. 

6.     Congress  met  December  ad,  1839.     Continuous 
XXVIth  Congress,     "Whig  Successes  had  given 
ist  Session.  them  a  fair  prospect  of  a  ma- 

jority, in  the  House.  Outside  of  New  Jersey  119 
Democrats  and  118  Whigs  had  been  returned  to  the 
House.  In  New  Jersey  members  of  the  House  were 
at  that  time  elected  on  a  general  ticket  by  the  whole 
State.  The  five  Whig  candidates  had  certificates  of 
election  under  the  broad  seal  of  the  State,1  while  the 
five  Democratic  candidates  contested  their  election  on 
the  ground  of  a  miscount  in  one  county.  The  admis- 
sion of  either  delegation  would  give  its  party  a  majority 
in  the  House.  For  three  days  a  disorderly  debate  con- 
tinued, there  being  no  presiding  officer  until  Decembei 
5th,  when  John  Quincy  Adams  was  spasmodically 
chosen  chairman  pro  tempore.  Unsucessful  attempts 
to  choose  a  Speaker  were  made  for  two  weeks  longer 
many  motions  being  voted  upon  by  both  the  New  Jer 
sey  delegations.  December  i7th,  R.  M.  T.  Hunter, 
of  Virginia,  a  Sub-Treasury  Whig,  was  chosen  Speaker 
The  New  Jersey  Question  was  not  settled  until 

1  Hence  this  contest  is  often  called  the  Broad  Seal  War. 


1840.]         Sub- Treasury  Bill  Passed.  129 

March,  1840,  when  the  Democratic  delegation  was 
seated,  many  Whigs  not  voting  because  of  lack  of  time 
to  examine  the  evidence  in  the  case. 

7.  The  party  contest  over  the  organization  of  the 
House  took  up  so  much  time  that  few  measures  of 
general  interest  were  passed  at  this  Session.     The  most 
notable  event  was  the  final  success  of  the  Independ- 
ent Treasury  Scheme,  which  had  twice  been  re- 
jected by  the  previous  Congress.     It  was  passed  by 
Doth  Houses,  and  signed  by  the  President.1     The  "  di- 
vorce of  bank  and  state,"  which  the  President  had  been 
laboring  to  accomplish,  was  thus  successful.     The  strict 
constructionist  policy  of  the  President  was  also  success- 
ful in  the  entire  suspension  of  appropriations  for  Inter- 
nal  Improvements.2     Congress   adjourned  July  2ist, 
1840. 

8.  The  Whig  National  Convention  met  at  Har- 
risburgh,   Pa.,  December   4th,   1839.     It   adopted  no 
platform.     For  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  Anti-Ma- 
sonic and  other  opposition  elements  it  reluctantly  aban- 
doned Clay,  and  nominated  William   H.  Harrison,  of 
Ohio,  and  John   Tyler,  of  Virginia.3    The   Demo- 
cratic   National    Convention   met   at    Baltimore, 

1  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Whigs  at  the  next  Session  made  unsuccessful  at 
fr-mpts  to  substitute  a  National  Bank  for  the  "  Sub-Treasury  plan." 

*  The  tools,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  Government  were  ordered  to  be  sold  at 
•uction. 

1  Tyler  was  a  Strict  Constructionist,  a  Calhoun  Democrat,  who  had  refused 
tu  follow  the  rest  of  his  faction  in  supporting  the  Administration.  His  noni- 
nation  was  intended  to  gratify  the  Southern  porti  Dn  of  the  Opposition  bj  a» 
effice  of  much  honor  and  little  impo-  tance 


130  American  Politics.  [1840 

May  5th,  1840,  and  adopted  a  strict  constructions! 
platform,  denying  the  power  of  Congress  to  carry  on 
Internal  Improvements,  to  protect  manufactures,  to 
charter  a  National  Bank,  or  to  interfere  with  Slavery  in 
he  States,  It  unanimously  renominated  the  President, 
but  left  nominations  for  the  Vice-Presidency  to  be 
made  by  the  various  States.  The  Abolitionists,  01 
Liberty  Party,  made  Presidential  nominations  No- 
vember 1 3th,  1839.  The  candidates  were  James  G. 
Birney,  of  New  York,  and  Francis  Lemoyne,  of 
Pennsylvania. 

9.  The   nomination   of  General   Harrison,  and  the 
Whig  attacks  upon  Van  Buren  and  his  financial  policy, 
created  an  enthusiasm  which  Van  Buren's  nomination 
did  not  meet.     Log-cabins  and  hard  cider,  which  were 
supposed  to  be  typical  of  Harrison's  frontier  life,  be- 
came popular  with  *he  Whigs,  whose  hopes  were  re- 
newed by  their  SUCL  "s  in  the  State  elections  of  the 
summer  and    fall  of   -840.     At   the    Presidential 
Election  in  November  the  united  opposition  abun 
dantly  gratified  their  personal  hostility  to  Van  Buren, 
The  Whig   electors   were   overwhelmingly   successful. 
Democratic  electors  were  chosen  by  only  two  North- 
en:,  and  five  Southern  States.     The  new  Abolition  party 
iid  not  succeed  in  choosing  any  electors,  but  polled  a 
popular  vote  of  7,609. 

10.  Congress  met  December  yth,  1840.     There  was 
XXVIth  Congress,     little  party  contest  at  this  Ses- 

2d  Session.  sion.     In  February,  1841,  the 

c'ectoral  votes  were  counted,  and  were  found  to  be,  foi 


1841.]  The  Electoral  Votes.  131 

President,  234  for  Harrison,  and  60  for  Vai:  Buren,  and, 
for  Vice-President,  234  for  Tyler,  48  for  Richard  M. 
Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  n  for  L.  W.  Tazewell,  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  i  for  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee.  Har- 
rison and  Tyler  were  therefore  declared  elected 
March  3d,  1841,  Congress  adjourned,  and  March  4'J> 
Hai risen  and  Tyler  were  sworn  into  office. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

rOURTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1841-1845. 

William  Henry  Harrison,  President,      John  Tyler,  Vice-Pre* 
XXVIIth  and  XXVIIIth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1840:    Whig  1,275,017, 
Democratic,  1,128,702. 

1.  The  President's  Inaugural   Address  con- 
demned any  excessive  use  of  the  veto  power,  the  em- 
ployment for  political  purposes  of  Executive  control 
over  public  officials,  and  all   Presidential  experiments 
upon   the   currency.     March    i7th  the    President,  by 
proclamation,  called  an  Extra  Session  of  Congress,  to 
meet  May  3ist  and  consider  the  financial  difficulties  of 
the  Government.     Before  any  further  developments  of 
the  President's  policy  could  take  place,  a  short  illness 
resulted  in  his  death,  April  4th.     According  to  law 
John  Tyler  became  President.     He  retained  Presi- 
dent Harrison's  Cabinet,  and  promised  to  carry  out  his 
policy. 

2.  Congress  met  May  3ist,  i84i.J     In  the  Hors< 


1  Senate,  28  Whig,  22  Dem.     House,  733  Whig,  icS  Dem. 
132 


-•841.]  President  Tyler1:  Vetoes.  133 

XXVIIth  Congress,  John  White,  of  Kentucky,  a 
Extra  Session.  Whig,  was  chosen  Speaker 
The  Whigs  at  once  began  the  change  in  financial 
policy  to  which  they  were  pledged.  A  bill  to  abolish 
the  Sub-Treasury  of  the  previous  Administration  was 
passed  by  both  Houses  and  signed  by  the  President 
A  bill  to  incorporate  The  Fiscal  Bank  of  the 
United  States  was  passed  by  both  Houses.  It  was 
weeded  of  many  of  the  objectionable  features  of  the  old 
United  States  Bank,  but  was  hardly  less  odious  to  the 
Democrats.  It  was  vetoed  by  the  President.  His  ob- 
jection was  that  the  powers  given  to  the  Bank  were 
such  as  he  and  the  majority  of  the  people  believed  it  to 
be  unwise  and  unconstitutional  for  Congress  to  grant. 
An  effort  to  pass  the  bill  over  the  veto  did  not  receive 
a  two-thirds  majority. 

3.  The  Whig  leaders,  anxious  to  prevent  a  party  dis- 
aster, asked  from  the  President  an  outline  of  a  bill 
which  he  would  sign.  After  consultation  with  the  Cab- 
inet, it  was  given,  and  passed  by  both  Houses.  Sep- 
tember Qth  the  President  vetoed  this  bill  also,  and  an 
attempt  to  pass  it  over  the  veto  did  not  receive  a  two- 
thirds  majority.  The  action  of  the  President,  in  veto- 
ing a  bill  dra^n  according  to  his  own  suggestions,  and 
thus  apparently  provoking  a  contest  with  the  party 
which  had  elected  him,  roused  the  unconcealed  indig- 
nation of  the  Whigs.  The  Cabinet,  with  one  excep 
tion,1  at  once  resigned.  The  Whig  members  of  Con- 
gress issued  Addresses  to  the  People,  in  whicr, 

1  Daniel  V,'cbs:er,  of  Missachutetts,  Secretary  of  State. 


134  American  Politics.  11841 

they  detailed  the  reforms  designed  by  the  Whigs  and 
impeded  by  the  President,  and  declared  that  "  all  po- 
litical connection  between  them  and  John  Tyler  was  at 
nn  end  from  that  day  forth."  At  this  Session  an  Act 
was  passed  to  distribute  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of 
public  lands  among  the  States.  Congress  adjourned 
September  i3th,  1841. 

4.  The  President  filled  the  vacancies  in  the  Cabi- 
net by  appointing  Whigs  and  Conservatives.     His  po- 
sition was  one  of  much  difficulty.     His  strict  construc- 
tionist  opinions,  which  had  prevented  him  from  sup- 
porting Van  Buren,  would  not  allow  him  to  approve  a 
National  Bank,  and  yet  he  had  accepted  the  Vice- 
Presidency  from  a  party  pledged  to  establish  one.     The 
over  hasty  declaration  of  war  by  the  Whigs  put  a  stop 
to  his  vacillations,  and  compelled  him  to  rely  upon  sup- 
port from  the  Democrats.     But  only  a  few  members  of 
Congress,  commonly  known  as  "  the  corporal's  guard," 
recognized  Tyler  as  a  leader.     The  Democrats  only 
supported  him  as  a  means  to  success,  and  were  encour- 
aged in  so  doing  by  the  State  elections  of  1841,  which 
were  unfavorable  to  the  Whigs. 

5.  Congress   met   December   6th,  1841.     Although 
XXVIIth  Congress,     Congress  had  decided  to  re 

ist  Session.  fuse    consideration    to   peli 

tions  for  the  abolition  of  Slavery,  they  continued  to  be 
sent.  John  Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  made 
himself  prominent  in  presenting  them  to  the  House; 
and  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  censuie  him 
In  March,  1842,  in  the  House,  Giddings,  of  Ohio 


1842.]  Slavery. —  The  Tariff.  135 

presented  a  set  of  resolutions  which  are  noteworthy  35 
containing  the  basis  for  the  subsequent  resistance  to 
the  extension  of  Slavery  to  the  Territories.  They  de- 
clared that  Slavery,  being  an  abridgment  of  the  naturai 
ights  of  man,  can  exist  only  by  force  of  positive  mimic 
ipal  law.  and  is  necessarily  confined  to  the  territorial 
jurisdiction  of  the  power  creating  it.  For  offering 
these  resolutions  the  House  censured  their  author.  He 
resigned  his  seat,  was  re-elected  at  a  special  election  in 
April,  and  again  took  his  seat  in  the  House  early  in 
May. 

6.  The  reduction  of  duties  by  the  Compromise  Tariff 
of  1833  had  gone  so  far  that  the  Government  revenues 
were  less  than  expenses.  A  new  tariff  became  neces- 
sary and  this  brought  on  the  struggle  between  Strict 
Construction ists  and  Loose  Constructionists.  The 
Whig  majority  passed  a  bill  continuing  for  the  present 
the  duties  under  the  Tariff  of  1833,  and  providing  for 
the  distribution  of  any  surplus  revenue  among  the  States. 
The  President  vetoed  it,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  in 
violation  of  the  Compromise  of  1833  by  which  Protec- 
tion was  to  cease  after  1842.  A  Tariff  designed  to  afford 
a  revenue  was  then  passed  by  both  Houses,  still  con- 
tinuing the  objectionable  provision  for  the  distribution 
of  the  surplus.  This  was  also  vetoed.  In  the  House 
the  Veto  Message  was  referred  to  a  committee,  whose 
report  condemned  the  President's  undue  assumption  of 
power.  Against  this  the  President  sent  a  formal  pro- 
test. The  bill  was  then  passed  by  both  Houses,  with- 
out the  distributing  c'ause,  signed  by  the  President,  and 


136  American  Politics.  [1842 

became  the  Tariff  of  1842.  The  distributing  clause 
was  passed  as  a  separate  bill,  and  disposed  of  by  a 
"pocket  veto."  Congress  adjourned  August  3ist, 
1842. 

7.  Congress  met  December  5th,  1842.     There  wa» 
XXVIIth    Congress,     little   party   contest   at  thii 

2d  Session.  Session.     On  its  last  day  a 

few  Anti-Slavery  Whigs  issued  an  address  to  the  people, 
warning  them  that  the  scheme  for  the  annexation  of 
Texas  had  never  been  abandoned,  but  was  still  in 
progress,  and  that  its  success  would  result  in  and  justify 
a  dissolution  of  the  Union.  Congress  adjourned  March 

3d>  l843- 

8.  Congress    met    December    4th,    1843.     In    the 

XXVIIIth  Congress,     House  John  W.  Jones,  of 
ist  Session.  Virginia,  a  Democrat,  was 

chosen  Speaker.  The  majority  in  the  Senate  was  Whig, 
and  in  the  House  Democratic,1  and  the  consequent 
disagreement  prevented  united  action,  and  encouraged 
the  President  in  his  reliance  upon  the  Democrats.  The 
President's  Message  had  recommended  that  any 
appropriations  for  Internal  Improvements  should  be 
made  for  the  benefit  of  the  Western  States.  Two  bills 
were  passed,  the  Eastern  Harbor  Bill,  and  the  Western 
Harbor  Bill.  The  President  signed  the  Western  Bill, 
and  vetoed  the  Eastern  Bill.  An  attempt  to  pass  it 
over  the  veto  did  not  receive  a  two-thirds  majority. 
The  Administration  concluded  a  treaty  with  Texas,  pro- 
viding for  annexation.  It  was  rejected  by  the  Senate 

1  Senate,  28  Whig,  24  Dem.     Home,  142  Dem.,  81  Whig. 


1844-]      Texas. — National  Conventions.  13* 

by  a  stn  ng  vote  (35-16),  all  the  Whigs  and  7  Demo 
crats  voting  against  it.  Congress  adjourned  June  i7th 
1844. 

9.  The  Annexation  of  Texas  was  now  rapidh 
becoming  a  party  question.     The  South  was  determined 
to  accomplish  it.     It  was  felt  that  if  the  South  must 
stop  at  the  Sabine  (the  Eastern  boundary  of  Texas), 
while  the  North  might  spread  unchecked  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  "  the  Southern  scale  must  kick  the 
beam,"  and  the  existence  of  Slavery  would  be  endan- 
gered.    Before    the    National    Conventions   met   the 
views  of  the  leading  candidates  upon  the  question  of 
annexation  had  been  asked   and  given.     Van  Buren 
guardedly  announced  himself  as  opposed  to  the  presem 
annexation  of  Texas.     Clay  expressed  himself  more 
plainly  to  the  same  effect. 

10.  The  National  Convention  of  the  Liberty  Party 
met  at  Buffalo,  August  3oth,  1843.     It  adopted  a  long 
series  of  resolutions,  denouncing   Slavery,  and  calling 
upon  the  Free  States  for  penal  laws  to  stop  the  return 
of  fugitive  slaves.     It  nominated  James  G.  Birney,  of 
Michigan,  and  Thomas  Morris,  of  Ohio.     The  "Whig 
National  Convention  met  at  Baltimore,  May  ist, 
1844,  and  adopted  a  concise  loose  constructionist  plat- 
form, advocating  a  national  currency,  a  protective  tariff, 
and  a  distribution  of  surplus  revenue  among  the  States. 
It  nominated  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  and  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen,of  New  York.     The  Democratic  Na- 
tional   Convention   met   at   Baltimore,  May  zyth, 
1844,  and  again  adopted  its  strict  constructionist  plat 


138  American  Politics.  [1844, 

form  of  i8}.o,  with  an  additional  article  demanding 
the  re-occupation  of  Oregon,  and  the  re-annexation  of 
Texas.  A  large  majority  of  the  delegates  came  pledged 
o  vote  for  Van  Buren,  whose  views  on  me  Texas 
uestion  did  not  satisfy  the  Southern  delegates.  They 
succeeded  in  destroying  his  chances  of  a  nomination 
by  the  adoption  of  the  rule  of  two  former  Democratic 
Conventions,  that  nominations  must  be  made  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote.1  Van  Buren  had  a  majority,  but  not  two- 
thirds.  After  eight  ballots  his  name  was  withdrawn, 
and  the  Convention  nominated  James  K.  Polk,  of 
Tennessee,  and  Silas  Wright,  of  New  York.  Wright 
declined,  and  George  M.  Dallas,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
substituted.  An  abortive  Convention  of  office-holders 
at  Baltimore  renominated  Tyler.  He  accepted  the 
nomination  but  soon  withdrew. 

n.  The  Democratic  party  was  thus  committed  to 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  though  the  demand  for  the 
Tariff  of  1842,  and  for  "  the  whole  of  Oregon  or  none, 
with  or  without  war  with  England"  helped  to  gain 
votes.  Nevertheless  Whig  success  seemed  probable 
until  the  appearance  of  an  unfortunate  letter  of  Clay's, 
in  which  he  tried  to  conciliate  Southern  Democrats  by 
laying  that  he  would  be  "  glad  to  see  "  the  annexation 
take  place  at  some  future  time.  By  this  ill-judged 
piece  of  diplomacy  he  gained  no  Democratic  votes,  for 
Polk  was  a  warm  advocate  of  annexation,  and  lost 
those  of  the  extreme  Anti-Slavery  Whigs  and  Aboli- 
tionists, who  purposely  threw  away  on  Birney  and 

1  This  hat  since  been  the  rule  in  Democratic  National  Convention*. 


1 844.]  Presidential  Election.  139 

Morris  a  number  of  votes  which  would  have  carried 
New  York  and  thus  elected  Clay.  They  were  there- 
fore the  real  agents  in  the  election  of  Polk,  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas,  and  the  extension  of  Slavery  to  a  vas» 
amount  of  new  territory. 

12.  The  Presidential  Ele<5lion  in  November  re- 
sulted in   Democratic  success.     But  it  was  the  most 
closely  contested  election  in  our  history,  except  those 
of  1800  and  1876.     The  result  in  14  of  the  26  States 
was  doubtful  for  two  days,  and  most  of  these  chose 
Polk  electors  by  very  slender  majorities.     In  several  of 
them  the  small  Abolition  vote  would  have  turned  the 
scale,  and   chosen   Clay  electors.     A   majority  of  the 
members  chosen  to  the  XXIXth  Congress  were  in  favoi 
of  a  lower  Tariff  than  that  of  1842. 

13.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1844.     A  bill  to  or 
.XXVIIIth  Congress,     ganize  a  territorial  govern- 

2d  Session.  ment  for  Oregon,  up  to  the 

line  of  54°  40'  North  latitude,  and  beyond  the  line 
claimed  by  England  as  the  true  boundary,  was  passed 
by  the  House,  but,  as  it  prohibited  Slavery,  the  Senate 
declined  to  consider  it.  The  annexation  of  Texas 
took  up  most  of  the  time  of  this  Session.  Mexico  had 
abolished  Slavery  twenty  years  before,  and  therefor 
Texas  was  by  Mexican  law  free  territory.1  Proposi- 
tions to  prohibit  Slavery  in  Texas  were  voted  down. 
The  Joint  Resolution  to  annex  Texas  was  passed  by 
both  Houses,  and  signed  by  the  President.  It  pro- 
hibited Slavery  in  any  States  to  be  formed  from  the  ter 

1  The  Republic  of  Texas,  however   had  re-established  Slavery  by  law. 


140  American  Politics. 

ritory  of  Texas  north  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  Line 
(36°  30'  North  latitude),  and  left  the  question  to  be 
settled  by  the  people  in  States  formed  south  of  that  line 
14.  Appropriations  were  made  at  this  Session  for  both 
Eastern  and  Western  harbors.  The  President  disposed 
of  them  by  a  pocket  veto.  In  February,  1845,  the 
electoral  votes  were  counted  and  were  found  to  be,  foi 
Polk  and  Dallas  170,  and  for  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen 
105.  Polk  and  Dallas  were  therefore  declared 
elected.  March  3d,  Florida  became  a  State  of  the 
Union,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  the  future  ad- 
mission of  Iowa.  The  same  day  the  President  sent  a 
messenger  to  secure  the  consent  of  Texas  to  the  an- 
nexation. March  3d,  1845,  Congress  adjourned,  and 
March  4th  Polk  and  Dallas  were  sworn  into  office. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

FIFTEENTH    ADMINISTRATION,    1845-1849. 

James  K.  Polk,  President.  George  M.  Dalla'    Vice-President 

XXIXth  and  XXXth  Congress-   . 

Popular  w>'e  for  President  in    1844      Dem.  1,337,243, 
Whig  1,299,068,  Ab.  62,300. 

1.  THE  policy  of  Rotation  in  Office,  laid  down 
l>y  Jackson  in   1829  and  accepted  by  the  Whigs  in 
1841,  was  now  finally  established  by  the  new  Adminis- 
tration.    It  has  been  the  rule  since  that  time  that  every 
Presidential  election  shall  be  marked  by  a  wholesale 
removal  of  office-holders,  whose  places  are  filled  by- 
friends  of  the  new  Administration. 

2.  Annexation  had  been  accepted  by  the  Congress 
of  Texas  and  by  a  Popular  Convention.     Mexico  was 
so  occupied  by  intestine  dissensions  and  revolution  that 
her  exhibition  of  resentment  was  at  first  confined  to  a 
formal  protest,  and  the  withdrawal  of  her  Minister  from 
Washington.     No  aggressive  movement  was  made  by 
her  even  when   United  States   troops   under  General 
Taylor  occupied  the  Eastern  bank  of  the  Nueces  River, 


142  American  Politics.  [1845 

beyond  which  Texas  had  never  hitherto  exercised  juris 
diction. 

3.  Congress     met     December     ist,    1845,   with    a 
XXIXth  Congress,     Democratic  majority  in  both 

ist  Session.  branches.1      In     the     House 

ohn  W.  Davis,  of  Indiana,  a  Democrat,  was  chosen 
Speaker.  The  President's  Message  condemned  all 
Anti-Slavery  agitation,  recommended  a  Sub-Treasury 
and  a  Tariff  for  Revenue,  and  spoke  of  the  annexation 
of  Texas  as  a  matter  which  concerned  only  Texas  and 
the  United  States.  December  2gth  Texas  became  a 
State  of  the  Union.  December  3 ist  an  Act  was  passed 
extending  the  United  States  revenue  system  over  the 
doubtful  territory  beyond  the  Nueces  River,  and  a 
revenue  officer  was  appointed  to  reside  in  the  new  dis 
trict.  Even  these  steps  did  not  induce  hostilities 
Mexico  still  declared  her  willingness  to  negotiate  con- 
cerning the  disputed  territory  between  the  Nueces  and 
the  Rio  Grande. 

4.  In  March,  1846,  Hostilities  were  precipitated 
by  an  order  from  the  President  to  General  Taylor  to 
advance  from  the  Nueces  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  oc- 
cupy the  debatable  district.     He  obeyed,  and  was  thus 
brought  face  to  face  with  Mexican  troops.     Early  in 
May   Arista,  with   6,000    Mexicans,  crossed   the    Ric 
Grande,  attacked  Taylor  and  his  force  of  2,300  men 
at  Palo  Alto,  and  was  badly  beaten.     On  the  following 
day  Taylor  assumed  the  offensive,  attacked  Arista  a» 
Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and  drove  him  in  headlong  re 
treat  across  the  Rio  Grande. 


1  Senate.  30  Dem..  25  Whijf      House.  142  Dem.,  75  Whig,  and  6  other*. 


1846.]  War  with  Mexico.  143 

5.  May  nth,  1846,  the  President  sent  a  War  Mes- 
sage to  Congress  in  which  he  detailed  the  preliminary 
skirmishes  on  the  Rio  Grande,  declared  that  Mexican 
troops  had  at  last  shed  the  blood  of  American  citizens 
on  American  soil,  and  asked  for  a  Declaration  of  War, 
A  bill  to  recognize  the  existence  of  war,  and  to  appro- 
priate   $10,000,000   for  its   prosecution,  was   at   once 
passed  by  both.  Houses.     Its  preamble  was  as  follows: 
"  Whereas,  by  the  act  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  a 
state  of  war  exists  between  that  government  and  the 
United  States."     This  was  considered  a  falsehood  by 
the  Whigs.     They  thought   that  President   Polk  had 
provoked  hostilities  by  ordering  the  army  into  Mex 
ican  territory.     Nevertheless  they  generally  voted,  un- 
der protest,  for 'the  declaration,  on  the  ground  that  the 
army  had   been  forced   into  a  perilous  situation,  and 
must  be  rescued.     On  the  same  ground  they  generally 
supported  the  war  until  its  conclusion.     The  Liberty 
party,  particularly  in  New  England,  opposed  the  wax 
bitterly.1 

6.  August  8th  a  Special  Message  from  the  President 
asked  for  money  with  which  to  purchase  territory  from 
Mexico,  that  the  war  might  thus  be  settled  by  negotia- 
tion.    A  bill  appropriating  $2,000,000  for  this  purpose 
at  once  brought  up  the  Slavery  question,  for  it  was  cer- 
tain that  any  newly  acquired  territory  would  swarm 
with  slave-holders,  who  would   demand  protection  in 
the  possession  of  their  slaves.     In  the  House  Wilmot, 
of  Pennsylvania,  on  behalf  of  many  Northern  Demo 

1  Their  fre'ing  is  represented  by  Lowell's  '  Biglow  Papers." 


144  American  Politics.  [1846 

crats,  offered  an  addition  to  the  bill,  applying  to  anj 
newly  acquired  territory  the  provision  of  the  Ordinance 
of  1787,'  that  "neither  Slavery  nor  involuntary  servi- 
tude shall  ever  exist  in  any  part  of  said  territory,  ex- 
cept for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  first  be  duly  con- 
victed." This  was  the  celebrated  Wilmot  Proviso. 
The  Whigs  and  Northern  Democrats  united  in  favor 
of  it,  and  it  passed  the  House,  but  was  sent  to  the 
Senate  too  late  to  be  acted  upon. 

7.  During  this  Session  war  with  England  upon  the 
Oregon  Question  seemed  imminent.  By  the  treaties 
of  1803  with  France,  and  1819  with  Spain,  the  United 
States  had  acquired  the  rights  of  those  powers  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  north  of  California.  The  Northern 
boundary  of  the  ceded  territory  was  unsettled.  The 
United  States  claimed  that  the  boundary  was  the  line 
54°  40'  North  latitude.  England  claimed  that  it  fol- 
lowed the  Columbia  River.  By  a  convention  of  1827 
the  disputed  territory  had  been  held  by  both  countries 
jointly,  the  arrangement  being  terminable  by  either 
country  on  twelve  months'  notice.  The  last  Demo- 
cratic Convention  had  demanded  the  "  ^-occupation  " 
of  the  whole  of  Oregon  (up  to  54°  40'),  with  or  with- 
out war  with  England.2  The  "  r<?-annexation  "  of 
Texas  having  been  accomplished,  the  Whigs  now  be- 
gan to  urge  the  Democrats  to  carry  out  their  pro- 
gramme in  regard  to  Oregon.  Against  the  votes  of 
the  extreme  Southern  Democrats,  the  President  wai 

1  See  page  57. 

•  Populatly  summed  ur  as  "fifr>  four-forty- or-fight  " 


[846.7      Oregon. — The  Tariff  of  1846.  145 

directed  to  give  the  requisite  twelve  months'  notice  tc 
Fngland. 

8.  June  isth,  1846,  the  Oregon  question  was  settled 
b>  a  Treaty  with  England,  by  which  the  United 
States  abandoned  the  line  of  54°  40',  and  accepted 

hat  of  49°  North  latitude  as  the  Northern  boundary 
A  bill  to  organize  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  with  the 
Wilmot  Proviso  attached,  was  passed  by  the  House, 
against  the  votes  of  the  Southern  Democrats,  but  was 
not  acted  upon  by  the  Senate. 

9.  At  this  Session  the  Tariff  of  1846  was  passed  by 
a  party  vote.     It   followed   the  strict   constructionist 
theory  in  aiming  at  a  list  of  duties  sufficient  only  to 
provide  revenue  for  the  Government,  without  regard  to 
Protection.     A  River  and  Harbor  Improvement 
Bill  was  passed  by  both  Houses.     It  was  vetoed  by 
the  President  on  the  ground  that  the  Constitution  did 
not,  in  his  opinion,  give  the  Federal  Government  any 
power  to  appropriate  money  for  the  purpose  of  making 
Internal  Improvements  within  the  States.     Congress 
adjourned  August  i3th,  1846. 

10.  Congress  met  December  yth,  1846.     December 
XXIXth  Congress,     28th,  Iowa   became  a   State 

2d  Session.  of  the   Union.     The  Presi- 

dent's Message  announced  the  continued  success 
of  the  American  arms  in  Mexico,  and  argued  that  the 
Rio  Grande  should  be  considered  the  Western  bound- 
ary of  Texas.  The  necessary  measures  for  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war  took  up  most  of  the  time  of  this  Ses- 
gion.  A  bill  appropriating  $3,000,000  farther  irchasf 
10 


146  American  Politics  1^4 7. 

of  territory  from  Mexico  was  passed  by  the  House 
with  the  Wilmot  Proviso  attached.  The  Senate  passed 
the  bill,  but  without  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  and,  after  un- 
availing struggle  Dy  the  Whigs,  the  House  adopted  the 
bill  as  it  came  from  the  Senate.  The  bill  to  organize 
tli2  Territory  of  Oregon,  with  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  was 
again  passed  by  the  House,  and  again  left  without  ac- 
tion by  the  Senate.  A  motion  in  the  House  by  a 
Southern  member  to  recognize  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise Line  (36°  30')  as  extending  to  the  Pacific  was 
lost  by  a  sectional  vote,  South  against  North.  A  River 
and  Harbor  Improvement  Bill  was  again  passed  but  so 
near  the  end  of  the  Session  that  the  President  was  able 
to  dispose  of  it  by  a  "pocket  veto."  Congress  ad 
journed  March  3d,  1847. 

n.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1847,  with  a  Dem 
XXXth  Congress,  ocratic  majority  in  the  Senate, 
ist  Session.  and  a  Whig  majority  in  the 
House.1  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  a 
Whig,  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House.  The  subject 
of  Internal  Improvements  was  again  brought  up, 
and  the  House  resolved  by  a  large  majority  that  the 
General  Government  had  the  power  to  improve  har- 
bors and  rivers  for  the  advantage  of  commerce  and  fo 
the  common  defense.  A  resolution  embodying  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  was  tabled.  It  did  not 
nave,  as  in  the  last  Congress,  the  whole  Free  Stat« 
Democratic  vote  in  its  favor.2 

1  Senate,  35  Dem.,  21  Whig.     House,  117  Whig,  108  Dem. 
Twenty-five  Free  State  Democrats  voted  aga>  ist  it 


1848.]      Peace. --National  Conventions.  147 

12.  Peace  was  made  with   Mexico  in    February, 
1848,  and  a  large   increase  of  territory  was   thereby 
gained  by  the  United  States.     As  a  compromise  be 
tween  the  advocates  and  the  opponents  of  the  exten- 
sion of  Slavery,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  estab- 
lishing territorial  governments  in  Oregon,  New  Mexico 
and  California,  with  a  provision  that  all  questions  con 
cerning  Slavery  in  those  Territories  should  be  referred 
to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  for  decision.     It 
was  voted  for  by  the  members  from  Slave  States,  and 
lost  in  the   House.     A  bill  was  then  passed  in  the 
House,  by  a  sectional  vote,  to  organize  the  Territory 
of  Oregon,  without  Slavery.     This  was  passed  by  the 
Senate,  with  an  amendment  declaring  that  the   Mis- 
souri Compromise  Line  extended  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
This  would  have  divided  the  United  States  into  two 
parts,  the  Northern  free,  and  the  Southern  slave.     The 
amendment  was  rejected   by  the   House,  again  by  a 
sectional   vote,  and,  the   Senate   withdrawing,  the  bill 
passed.     Congress  adjourned  August  i4th,  1848.     May 
29th  Wisconsin  had  become  a  State  of  the  Union. 

13.  The  Democratic  National  Convention  met 
at  Baltimore,  May  22d,  1848.     It   renewed  the  strict 
constructionist  platform  of  1840  and  1844,  and  nomi- 
nated Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  and  William  O.  Butler, 
of  Kentucky.     A   resolution   that    Congress   had   no 
power  to  interfere  with  Slavery,  either  in  the  States  01 
in  the  Territories,  was  voted  down  by  a  heavy  majority, 
The  Whig  National  Convention  met  at  Philadel 
phia,  June    yth,  and   nominated   Zachary   Taylor,  o> 


148  American  Politics.  [1848. 

Louisiana,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York.  Na 
platform  was  adopted,  and  resolutions  affirming  the 
Wilmot  Proviso  as  a  party  principle  were  repeatedly 
voted  down.  It  was  thus  evident  that  the  Whigs  were 
not  ready  to  become  an  Anti- Slavery  party,  nor  were 
the  Democrats  ready  to  become  a  Pro-Slavery  party 
The  State  of  New  York  had  sent  two  delegations  to  th 
Democratic  Convention,  the  "  Hunkers,"  or  Conserva- 
tives, who  wished  tc  leave  the  Slavery  question  in  abey- 
ance, and  the  "  Barnburners,"  J  or  Free  Soil  Democrats, 
who  opposed  any  further  extension  of  Slavery  into  the 
Territories.  The  Convention  admitted  both,  dividing 
the  vote  of  New  York  between  them.  The  Barn- 
burners withdrew,  and  attended  the  National  Conven- 
tion of  a  new  party,  the  Free  Soilers,  at  Buffalo, 
August  gth.  It  adopted  a  platform  declaring  that  Con- 
gress had  no  more  power  to  make  a  slave  than  to  make 
a  king,  and  that  there  should  be  no  more  Slave  States, 
and  no  more  Slave  Territories.  It  nominated  Martin 
Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  and  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
of  Massachusetts. 

14.  The  Free  Soilers  (or  Free  Democracy)  were 
joined  by  the  old  Liberty  party,  and  by  many  Demo- 
crats who  were  offended  at  the  support  given  by  South- 
ern Democrats  to  the  efforts  to  establish  Slavery  in  the 
territory  lately  won  from  Mexico.  In  the  South  many 
former  Democrats  preferred  a  slave-holding  candidate 
without  a  platform  to  a  non  slave-holding  candidate 


1  This  was  originally  a  term  applied  by  their  opponents  to  their  supposed 
evolutionary  principles.     It  made  no  charge  of  practical  arson. 


1848.]  Presidential  Election.  149 

on  a  platfoim  in  which  support  of  Slavery  had  been 
voted  down.  The  Presidential  Election  in  No- 
vember resulted  in  the  success  of  the  Whig  electors  io 

majority  both  of  the  Free  and  of  the  Slave  States. 
The  belief  of  the  Northern  Democrats  that  they  hat! 
been  betrayed  by  the  Southern  Democrats  in  the  elec- 
tion had  its  natural  effect  in  the  next  Session  of  Con- 
gress, where  the  Free  State  Democrats  voted  for  every 
measure  aimed  at  Slavery. 

15.  Congress  met  December  5th,  1848.  A  bill  to 
XXXth  Congress,  organize  the  Territories  of  New 
2d  Session.  Mexico  and  California,  with  the 

Wilmot  Proviso,  was  passed  by  the  House  by  a  sec- 
tional vote,  almost  all  the  Free  State  Democrats  voting 
for  it.  The  Senate  refused  to  consider  it.  The  House 
then  passed  a  resolution  condemning  the  sale  of  slaves 
in  Washington  as  "  notoriously  a  reproach  to  our  coun- 
try throughout  Christendom,"  which  roused  the  indig- 
nation of  Southern  members.  Late  in  the  Session  the 
Senate  passed  the  General  Appropriation  Bill  for  gov- 
ernment expenses,  with  a  "  rider," ]  organizing  the 
Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  California, 
permitting  Slavery.  Its  object  was  to  compel  the 
House  to  yield,  or  leave  the  Government  penniless. 
The  House  threw  this  responsibility  back  upon  the 
Senate  by  substituting  for  its  rider  a  provision  that  un- 
til July  4th,  1850,  the  existing  Mexican  laws  of  those 
Territories  should  remain  in  force.  As  Mexico  had 

1  That  h,  an  addition  having  no  reference  to  the  subject  matter  of  the  origi 
ul  bi'l. 


f5O  American  Politics.  [1849 

abolished  Slavery  this  would  have  made  the  new  Ter- 
ritories free.  On  the  last  night  of  the  Session  the  Sen- 
ate unwillingly  struck  out  its  "  rider "  and  the  House 
substitute,  and  passed  the  Appropriation  Bill  as  it  origi- 
nally came  from  the  House. 

1 6.  Another  River  and  Harbor  Improvement  Bill 
was  passed  by  the  House,  but  was  not  acted  upon  by 
the  Senate.  In  February,  1849,  the  electoral  votes 
were  counted  and  were  found  to  be,  for  Taylor  and 
Fillmore  163,  and  for  Cass  and  Butler  127.  Taylor 
and  Fillmore  were  therefore  declared  elected.  March 
3d,  1849,  Congress  adjourned,  and  March  5th  Tayloi 
and  Fillmore  were  sworn  into  office. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SIXTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,   1849-1853. 

Zacuary  Taylor,  President.  Mlllard  Fillmore,  Vice-President 

XXXIst  and  XXXIId  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1848:    Whig  1,360,101 
Dem.  1,220,544,  Free  Soil  291,263. 

i.  TAYLOR'S  Inauguration  marks  the  beginning  of  a 
Process  of  Change  which  in  a  few  years  destroyed 
one  of  the  two  great  parties,  and  changed  the  charactei 
of  the  other.  The  Free  Soil  Democrats,  who  opposed 
any  extension  of  Slavery  to  the  Territories,  and  had 
therefore  abandoned  the  Democratic  party,  saw  no 
reason  for  joining  the  Whig  party,  which  had  distinctly 
rejected  the  principle  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso.  The  con- 
sequent loss  of  the  Democrats,  in  numbers,  was  moie 
than  balanced  by  the  accession  of  Pro-Slavery  Whigs 
who  made  their  new  party  progressively  more  Pro- 
Slavery.  The  Whig  losses  had  no  compensating  gains. 
The  disintegration  of  the  party  continued  from  its  suc- 
cess in  electing  a  slave-holding  President  in  1848  until 
the  n«»  of  its  anti-slavery  successor  in  1855-56. 


152  American  Politics. 

2.  The  accession  of  Pro-Slavery  Whigs  soon  brought 
prominently  forward  the  doctrine  which  the  last  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention  had  voted  down,  that  the 
Constitution  gave  Congress  no  power  to  interfere  with 
Slavery  in  the  Territories,  and  that  the  people  of  each 
Territory  should   allow  or   prohibit   Slavery  as   they 
pleased.     This  was   Squatter   Sovereignty.1      Of 
course  it  would  follow  from  this  that  the    Missouri 
Compromise  of  1820  was  illegal  and  unconstitutional, 
as  it  abolished  Slavery  in  the  Territories  North  of  36° 
30'.     But  this  consequence  was  not  at  first  mentioned, 
and,  perhaps,  not  thought  of. 

3.  \s  Squatter  Sovereignty  was  a  strict  construction- 
ist  theory,  it  was  more  easy  to  force  it  upon  the  Demo- 
cratic than  upon  the  Whig  party.     From   this  time, 
therefore,  Southern  leaders  aimed  to  control  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  more  thoroughly,  abandoning  its  opponent 
after  an  effort  to  use  it  as  an  instrument  in  completing 
the  work  of  the  Democracy.2     The  struggle  between 
the  advocates  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  which  forbade 
Slavery  in  the  new  territory,  and  of  Squatter  Sover 
eignty,  which  allowed  its  introduction,  if  desired  by  the 
people,  was  precipitated  by  the  Discovery  of  Gold 
vn  California.      The  consequent  rush  of  immigration 
increased  the  population  of  California  so  rapidly  that  a 
State  constitution  was  formed  June  3d,  1849,  expressly 
prohibiting   Slavery.      This    practical    application   of 
Squatter  Sovereignty  was  equally  surprising   and  un- 
welcome to  its  first  advocates. 

'  Otherwise  called  Popular  Sovereignty. 
*  At  the  Presidential  Convention  of  1852. 


1850]          The  Compromise  of  1850.  153 

4.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1849,  with  a  Demo 
XXXIst  Congress,     cratic  majority  in  the  Senate, 

ist  Session.  and  no  party  majority  in  th< 

House,  the  Free  Soilers  holding  the  balance  of  powtr 

etween  the   other  two  parties.1      The   Free   Soilers 

efused  to  vote  for  either  the  Whig  or  the  Democratic 

candidates  for  Speaker,  and,  after  62  unavailing  ballots 

in  which  no  one  had  a  majority  of  all  the  votes,  it  was 

agreed  that  the  highest  number  of  votes  should  elect. 

The  House  then  chose  as  Speaker  Howell  Cobb,  of 

Georgia,  a  Democrat  and  an  advocate  of  the  extension 

of  Slavery. 

5.  California  applied  for  admission  as  a  State  Feb- 
ruary 1 3th,  1850.     Shortly  before  the  application  Clay 
had  submitted  a  proposition  to  compromise  the  con 
flicting  claims  of  the  advocates  of  Slavery  extension 
and  of  Slavery  restriction.     His  proposition  included 
seven  points:    (i)  the  admission  of  any  new  States 
properly  formed  from  Texas,  (2)  the  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia, (3)  the  organization  of  the  Territories  of  New 
Mexico  and  Utah,  without  the  Wilmot  Proviso  (/.  e.t 
with  Squatter  Sovereignty),  (4)  the  passage  of  the  last 
two  measures  in  one  bill,  (5)  the  payment  of  a  money 
indemnity  to  Texas,  (6)  a  more  rigid  F-igitive  Slave 
Law,  (7)  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  but  not  of 
Slavery,  in  the  District  of  Columbia.      This  was  the 
basis  of  the  Compromise  of  1850.     It  was  opposed 
by  the  Whigs  and  Free  Soilers,  who  considered  it  a 

'  Senate,  35  Dem.    25  Whig,  2  F'e:  Soilers.     House,  no  Dem.,  10 
%  Free  Sellers. 


(54  American  Politics.  [1850 

surrender  cf  free  soil  to  the  slave  power,  and  by  tne 
extreme  Southern  Democrats,  who  considered  it  a 
surrender  of  the  slave-holder's  right  to  hold  his  property 
and  slaves  wherever  he  pleased  to  settle.  But  it  was 
undoubtedly  satisfactory  to  the  great  majority  of  the 
people,  as  averting  civil  war  and  disunion. 

6.  The  Compromise  of  1850  was  originally  united 
in  one  bill.1     It  was  debated  throughout  the  Session, 
and  gradually  divided  into  a  number  of  separate  bills. 
These  were  all  passed,  during  the  months  of  August 
and  September,  by  both   Houses,  and  became  law. 
California  thus  became  a  State  of  the  Union  Sep- 
tember gth,  1850.     Perhaps  the  most  important,  in  its 
bearing  upon  future  events,  was  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law,  which  was  much  more  stringent  in  its  provisions 
than  the  one  already  in  existence.     It  directed  and 
encouraged  the  surrender  of  fugitive  slaves  by  United 
States  Commissioners  in  the  North,  without  any  trial 
by  jury,  and  commanded  all  good  citizens  to  aid  in 
making  arrests.     The  work  of  chasing  and  arresting 
fugitive  slaves  in  the  Northern  States  was  at  once  be- 
gun, and  carried  on  diligently,  often  inhumanly.     The 
consequent  disgust  and  horror  caused  the  passage,  by 
some  Northern  Legislatures,  of  Personal  Liberty 
Laws,  intended  to  protect  free  negroes  falsely  alleged 
10  be  fugitive  slaves.     Congress  adjourned  September 
3oth,  1850. 

7.  July    Qth    President    Taylor    died,    and    Vice- 
President  Fillmore  became  President  in  his  stead 

1  Ccmmonly  called  the  Omnibus  Bill,  from  its  all-embracing  nature. 


1851.]  An  Interval  of  Calm.  155 

The  change  had  no  effect  upon  party  contests,  the 
Administration  remaining  Whig,  as  before 

8.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1850.     There  wat 
XXXIst  Congress,     little  party  contest  at  this  Sus- 

ad  Session.  sion.     The  questions  of  Tariff, 

»ntemal  Improvements,  and  a  National  Bank,  had,  for 
a  time  at  least,  disappeared.  On  the  question  of 
Slavery,  which  had  so  suddenly  sprung  into  controlling 
interest,  neither  party  was  ready  to  take  a  decided 
stand.  The  business  of  this  Session  was  therefore  con- 
fined to  routine,  with  occasional  debates  on  Slavery. 
Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1851. 

9.  Congress  met  December  ist,  1851,  with  a  Dem- 
XXXIId    Congress,      ocratic    majority    in    both 

ist  Session.  branches.1      In  the  House 

Linn  Boyd,  of  Kentucky,  a  Democrat,  was  chosen 
Speaker.  The  increased  Democratic  majority  in  Con- 
gress marks  the  satisfaction  with  which  the  people 
generally  had  received  the  Compromise  of  1850,  as 
they  understood  it.  There  was  little  party  contest  at 
this  Session.  The  question  of  Slavery  was  considered 
settled,  and  the  Democratic  majority  generally  sup- 
ported the  measures  recommended  by  the  Administra- 
tion for  carrying  on  the  government.  This  Session, 
however,  is  noteworthy  for  the  first  mention  of  a  meas- 
ure destined  to  transfer  the  conflict  between  Slavery 
and  its  opponents  to  the  country  west  of  Missouri, 
stretching  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  called,  from 
its  principal  river,  the  Platte  Country.2  It  had  be- 

1  Senate,  34  Dem.,  23  Whigs,  3  Free  Soilers.    House,  140  Dem., 
«  Free  Soilers.  *  Now  called  Kansas. 


!$£  American  Polites.  [1852 

come  a  through  route  to  California,  and  its  population 
was  increasing.  It  now  applied  for  organization  as  a 
Territory,  but  the  application  was  not  acted  upon 
Congress  adjourned  August  3ist,  1852. 

10.  The  Democratic  National  Convention  met 
at  Baltimore,  June  ist,  1852.  It  renewed  the  strict 
constructionist  platforms  of  preceding  Conventions, 
endorsed  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  Resolutions  of 
1798,  and  pledged  the  Democratic  party  to  the  faith- 
ful observance  of  the  Compromise  of  1850,  including 
the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and  to  a  steady  opposition  to 
any  agitation  of  the  Slavery  question.  It  nominated 
Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  and  William  R. 
King,  of  Alabama.  The  Whig  National  Conven- 
tion met  at  Baltimore,  June  i6th.  It  adopted  a  loose 
constructionist  platform,  more  cautiously  worded  than 
those  of  former  Conventions,  and  endorsed  the  Com- 
promise of  1850  and  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  in  terms 
very  similar  to  those  of  the  Democratic  platform.  Af- 
ter a  session  of  six  days  it  nominated  Winfield  Scott, 
of  Virginia,  and  William  A.  Graham,  of  North  Caro- 
lina. The  Free  Soil  Democratic  Convention 
met  at  Pittsburgh,  August  nth.  It  adopted  a  plat- 
forn  declaring  Slavery  to  be  a  sin  against  God  and  a 
crime  against  man,  and  denouncing  the  Compromise 
of  1850,  and  the  two  parties  who  supported  it.  I( 
nominated  John  P.  Hale,  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
George  W.  Julian,  of  Indiana. 

n.  The  success  of  the  Southern  delegates  in  com- 
mitting the  Whig  Convention  to  the  support  of  the 
Compromise  of  1850  did  not  injure  the  party  so  much 


1852.]  Nebraska.  \  5  7 

at  the  time  as  it  did  afterwards,  when  the  real  nature 
of  that  Compromise  was  declared.1  At  the  Presi- 
dential Election  in  November  its  popular  vote  was 
slightly  increased  since  the  previous  election,  al- 
though most  of  the  Free  Soil  vote  was  drawn  from  it 
Nevertheless  the  Whig  electors  carried  only  four  States,1 
the  other  twenty-seven  States  choosing  Democratic 
electors,  though  generally  by  very  small  majorities. 

12.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1852.     A  bill  was 
XXXIId  Congress,     passed  by  the  House  to  or- 
2d  Session.  ganize    the    Territory    of 

Nebraska,  with  the  same  boundaries  as  the  formerly 
proposed  Territory  of  Platte.  It  was  tabled  in  the 
Senate.  The  opposition  to  it  came  from  Southern 
members  who  were  preparing,  but  were  not  yet  ready 
to  announce,  their  next  advanced  claim,  that  the  Com- 
promise of  1850  had  superseded  and  voided  that  of 
1820,  abolished  the  prohibition  of  Slavery  in  the  terri- 
tory North  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  Line  (36°  30' 
North  latitude),  and  opened  it  to  the  operation  of 
Squatter  Sovereignty.  In  February,  1853,  the  elect- 
oral votes  were  counted,  and  were  found  to  be,  for 
Pierce  and  King  254,  and  for  Scott  and  Graham  42. 
Pierce  and  King  were  therefore  declared  elected. 
March  3d,  1853,  Congress  adjourned,  and  March  4th 
Pierce  was  sworn  into  office.3 

i  The  Whig  party  was  thei    "orcibly  s«.id  to  hnve  died  "of  an  attempt  U 
"wallow  tlio  Fugitive  Slave  f.a.v." 

*  Massat  husetts,  Vermont,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee. 

*  Vice- President  King>  on  account  of  illness,  was  svorn  into  office  aftft 
Ward 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SEVENTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,   1853-1857. 

Franklin  Pierce,  President.  William  R.  King,  Vice-Presideit 

XXXIIId  and  XXXIVth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1852:  Dem.  1,601,474, 
Whig  1,386,578,  Free  Soil  156,149. 

i.  CONGRESS  met  December  5th,  1853.     The  Dem- 
XXXIIId    Congress,      ocratic    majority    in    both 
ist    Session.  branches    was    increased.1 

In  the  House  Speaker  Boyd  was  again  elected.  The 
President's  Message  assured  those  who  had  elected 
him  that  he  intended  to  carry  out  the  Compromise  of 
1850,  in  all  its  parts.  A  Senate  bill  to  organize  the 
Territory  of  Nebraska  was  interfered  with  by  a 
•Jemand  from  a  Southern  Senator  that  the  Missouri 
Compromise  should  not  be  so  construed  as  to  prohibit 
SI  ivery  in  the  now  Territory.  The  bill  was  at  once 
dropped.  But  a  sufficient  number  of  Free  State 
Democrats  soon  acquiesced  in  the  Southern  demand 
to  make  it  a  success. 

Senate,  36  Dem.,  20  Whigs,  2  Free  Soilers.     House,  159  Dem.,  71  Whig* 
«  Free  Soilcrj. 


1854]         The  Kansas- Nebraska  Bill.  159 

2.  Jan.  23d,  1854,  the  famous  Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill  was  introduced  in  the  House.      It  divided  the 
territory  covered  by  the  previous  Nebraska  bill  into 
two  Territories,  one  directly  west  of  Missouri  and  be- 

ween  the  parallels  of  37°  and  40°,  to  be  called  Kan- 
»as,  and  the  other  north  of  this  and  between  the  paral- 
lels of  40°  and  43°,  to  be  called  Nebraska.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Compromise  of  1820  both  of  these  Terri 
tories  were  forever  barred  to  Slavery.  But  this  bill 
distinctly  declared  that  the  Compromise  of  1820  was 
inconsistent  with  the  constitutional  principle  of  non- 
interference with  Slavery  by  Congress,  that  it  was 
therefore  inoperative,  void,  and  repealed  by  the  Com- 
promise of  1850,  and  that  hereafter  each  Territory, 
whether  north  or  south  of  the  parallel  of  36°  30', 
should  admit  or  exclude  Slavery  as  its  people  should 
decide.  This  bill  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  its  only 
opponents  being  the  Northern  Whigs  and  Free  Soilers. 

3.  The  Kansas- Nebraska  Bill  did  not  come  up  in  the 
House  until  about  two  months  later.     The  Southern 
Democrats  and  Southern  Whigs  united  in  favor  of  it 
The  Northern  Democrats  were  evenly  divided,1  and  the 
Northern  Whigs  and   Free   Soilers  united  against  it. 
The  division  between  the  Democratic  opponents  and 
advocates  of  the  Kansas- Nebraska  Bill  was  soon  healed. 
The  division  between  Northern  and  Southern  Whigs  was 
final.     The  Northern  Whigs  at  once  repudiated  theii 
old  party  name,  and  were  called  at  first  Anti-Ne- 
braska Men.     The  Southern  Whigs  kept  the  partj 

1  There  were  €8  Northern  Democrs  tic  votes,  44  for.  and  44  against  t 


160  American  Politics.  [1854 

name  alive  a  few  years  longer,  but  their  principles  on 
the  controlling  question  of  Slavery  were  so  similar  ta 
those  of  the  Southern  Democracy  that  they  can  hardly 
be  called  a  distinct  party.  Congress  adjourned  August 
7th,  1854. 

4.  A  new  party  had  by  this  time  risen  to  active  im 
portance  in  American  politics.  It  appeared  in  1852,' 
in  the  form  of  a  secret,  oath-bound  organization,  of 
whose  name,  nature,  and  objects,  nothing  was  told 
even  to  its  members  until  they  had  reached  its  higher 
degrees.  Their  consequent  declaration  that  they  knew 
nothing  about  it  gave  the  society  its  popular  name  of 
Know  Nothings.  It  accepted  the  name  of  the 
American  Party.  Its  design  was  to  oppose  the 
easy  naturalization  of  foreigners,  and  to  aid  the  elec- 
tion of  native-born  citizens  to  office.  Its  nominations 
were  made  by  secret  conventions  of  delegates  from 
the  various  lodges,  and  were  voted  for  by  all  members 
under  penalty  of  expulsion  in  case  of  refusal.  At  first, 
by  endorsing  the  nominations  of  one  or  other  of  the 
two  great  parties,  it  decided  many  elections.  After 
the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  the  Know 
Nothing  organization  was  adopted  by  many  Southern 
Whigs,  who  were  unwilling  to  unite  with  the  Democ- 
racy, and  became,  for  a  time,  a  national  party.  It 

1  The  Hartford  Convention  had  complained  of  the  easy  naturalization  ol 
foreigners.  A  "Native  American"  party  had  existed  in  New  York  City  in 
1835,  but  it  was  only  local,  and  soon  disappeared.  In  1843  a  new  "Nal/-n 
American"  party  had  arisen  in  New  York  City,  and  extended  to  Philadelpl  v 
Its  Whig  members  left  it  in  1844  because  of  its  refusal  to  vote  for  Clay,  ;  J 
It  too  disappeared. 


1 8  5  5 .]   Internal  Improvements. — Kansas.         \  6 1 

carried  nine  of  the  State  elections  in  1855,  and  in  1856 
nominated  Presidential  candidates.  After  that  time  its 
Southern  members  gradually  united  with  the  Democ- 
racy, and  the  Know  Nothing  party  disappeared  froru 
politics. 

5.  Congress  met  December  4th,  1854.     There  was 
XXXIIId  Congress,     little  party   contest   at   this 

2d  Session.  Session,   which   was    chiefly 

noteworthy  for  a  revival  of  the  question  of  Internal 
Improvements.  It  secured  Democratic  votes  by 
providing  for  detached  public  improvements.  A  River 
and  Harbor  bill  was  passed  by  both  Houses,  but  was 
vetoed  by  the  President.  Congress  adjourned  March 
3^  1855. 

6.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1855,*  with  a  Demo- 
XXXI  Vth  Congress,     cratic  majority  in  the  Senate. 

ist  Session.  In   the   House   the   "  Anti- 

Nebraska  men  "  had  a  majority,  but  so  many  of  them 
were  Know  Nothings  that  no  candidate  could  control 
their  entire  vote.  After  130  ballots  for  Speaker,  lasting 
until  February,  1856,  it  was  agreed  that  the  highest 
number  of  votes  should  elect,  and  N.  P.  Banks,  Jr.,  of 
Massachusetts,  an  "  Anti-Nebraska  man,"  was  chosen. 
The  remaining  time  of  this  Session  was  occupied  by  the 
Kansas  Troubles,  which  will  be  referred  to  here 
after.  A  House  Committee  was  sent  to  Kansas,  and 
reported  that  no  free  or  fair  election  had  ever  taken 
place  in  that  Territory.  The  House  voted  an  appro 

1  Senate,  34  Dem..  2 5  Opposition.    House,  117  Anti-Nebraska  79  Dem..  j< 
Pro-Slavery  Whigs. 
II 


1 62  American  Politics.  [1855 

priation  for  the  army,  with  a  proviso  forbidding  the  use 
of  the  army  to  enforce  the  acts  of  the  Pro-Slavery  Kan  • 
sas  Legislature.1  The  Senate  rejected  the  proviso,  and 
during  the  disagreement  between  the  Houses  the  time 
xed  for  adjournment  arrived,  and  Congress  adjourned 
August  i8th,  1856,  leaving  the  Army  Bill  unpassed. 
The  President  at  once  called  an  Extra  Session  of  Con 
gress,  in  which  the  Army  Bill,  without  the  proviso,  was 
passed,  and  Congress  again  adjourned  August  3oth, 
1856. 

7.  Early  in    1856  the  "Anti-Nebraska  men"  had 
adopted  the  name  of  the  Republican  Party.2     The 
new  name  was  at  once  recognized  by  the   Democrats 
with  the  addition  of  a  contemptuous  adjective  (Black 
Republican).     It  will  be  seen  that  the  new  party  was  a. 
loose  constructionist  party,  inheriting  the  desire  of  the 
Federalists  and  Whigs  for  Protective  Tariffs,  Internal 
Improvements,  and  a  system  of  National  Bank  Cur- 
rency, and  adding  to  them  the  further  principle  that  the 
Federal  Government  had  power  to  control  Slavery  in 
the  Territories.     The  new  party  had  therefore  an  as- 
sured existence  from  the  first,  for  'ts  additional  loose 
constructionist  principle  was  the  only  logical  answer  to 
the  strict  constructionist  principle  still  avowed  by  the 
Democrats,  that  Congress  had  no  constitutional  power 
to  interfere  for  or  against  Slavery  in  the  Territories. 

8.  The  attention  of  the  whole  country  had  now  been 

>  See  page  165. 

1  First  proposei,   it  is  said,  by  Governor   Seward,  of  New  York,  late  if 
t»55 


The  Kansas  Struggle.  163 

turned  to  the  struggle  provoked  by  the  Kansas-Ne 
braska  BiL,  and  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
The  fertile  soil  of  Kansas  had  been  offered  as  a  prize 
to  be  contended  for  by  Free  and  Slave  States,  and  both 
had  accepted  the  contest.  The  Slave  State  settlers 
were  first  in  the  field.  The  slave-holders  of  Western 
Missouri,  which  shut  off  Kansas  from  the  Free  States, 
had  crossed  the  border,  pre-empted  lands,  and  warned 
Free  State  immigrants  not  to  pass  through  Missouri. 
The  first  election  of  a  delegate  to  Congress  took  place 
November  2gth,  1854,  and  was  carried  by  organized 
bands  of  Missourians,  who  moved  over  the  border  or 
election  day,  voted,  and  returned  at  once  to  Missouri. 
The  spring  election  of  1855,  for  a  Territorial  Legis 
lature,  was  carried  in  the  same  fashion.  In  July,  1855 
this  Legislature,  all  Pro-Slavery,  met  at  Pawnee,  and 
adopted  a  State  Constitution.  To  save  trouble  it 
adopted  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Missouri  entire,  with  a 
series  of  original  statutes  denouncing  the  penalty  of 
death  for  nearly  fifty  offenses  against  Slavery. 

9.  All  through  the  spring  and  summer  of  1855  Kan- 
sas was  the  scene  of  almost  continuous  conflict,  the 
Border  Ruffians  of  Missouri  endeavoring  to  drive 
out  the  Free  State  Settlers  by  murder  and  arson, 
ind  the  Free  State  settlers  retaliating.  The  cry  of 
"bleeding  Kansas"  went  through  the  North.  Emi- 
gration societies  were  formed  in  the  Free  States  to  aid, 
arm,  equip,  and  protect  intending  settlers.  These,  pre- 
vented from  passing  through  Missouri,  took  a  more 
Northern  route  through  Iowa  and  Nebraska,  and 


164  American  Politics.  [1855 

moved  into  Kansas  like  an  invading  army.  Tin 
Southern  States  also  sent  parties  of  intending  settlers. 
But  these  were  not  generally  slave-holders,  but  young 
men  anxious  for  excitement.  They  did  not  go  to  Kan- 
sas, as  their  opponents  did,  to  plow,  sow,  gather  crops 
and  build  up  homes.  Therefore,  though  their  first 
rapid  and  violent  movements  were  successful,  their  sub 
sequent  increase  of  resources  and  numbers  was  not 
equal  to  that  of  the  Free  State  settlers. 

10.  The  Territory  soon  became  practically  divided 
into  a  Pro-Slavery  district,  and  a  Free  State  district. 
Leavenworth  in  the  former,  and  Topeka  and  Lawrence 
in  the  latter,  were  the  chief  towns.  September  5th, 
1855,  a  Free  State  Convention  at  Topeka  re- 
pudiated the  Territorial  Legislature  and  all  its  works, 
as  the  acts  and  deeds  of  Missourians  alone.  It  also  re- 
solved to  order  a  separate  election  for  delegate  to  Con- 
gress, so  as  to  force  that  body  to  decide  the  question,1 
and  to  form  a  State  government.  January  i5th,  1856, 
the  Free  State  settlers  elected  State  officers  under  the 
Topeka  Free  State  Constitution.2 

n.  The  Federal  Executive  now  entered  the 
field.  January  24th,  1856,  the  President,  in  a  Special 
Message  to  Congress,  endorsed  the  Pro-Slavery  Legis- 
lature, and  pronounced  the  attempt  to  form  a  Free 
Stale  government,  without  the  approval  of  the  Federal 
authorities  in  the  Territory,  to  be  an  act  of  rebellioa 

1  The  question  was  decided  by  the  admission  of  the  P:  o-Slavery  delegate. 
1  Under  this  (Topeka)  Constitution  Kansas  applied  foi  admission  ai  »  SUIT 
tad  was  rejected. 


1856.]  Assault  itpon  Sumner.  165 

He  then  issued  a  proclamation,  warning  all  persons  en- 
gaged in  disturbing  the  peace  of  Kansas  to  retire  to 
their  homes,  and  placed  United  States  troops  at  the 
orders  of  Governor  Shannon  to  enforce  the  (Pro-Slavery) 
laws  of  the  Territory. 

12.  The  population  of  Kansas  was  now  so  large  that 
very  considerable  armies  were  mustered  on  both  sides, 
and  a  desultory  civil  war  was  kept  up  until  nearly  the 
end  of  the  year.     During  its  progress  two  Free  State 
towns,    Lawrence    and    Ossawattomie,  were    sacked. 
July  4th,  1856,  the  Free  State  Legislature  attempted  to 
assemble  at  Topeka,  but  was  at  once  dispersed  by  a 
body  of  United  States  troops,  under  orders  from  Wash- 
ington.1    September   gih,  a  new  Governor,  Geary,  of 
Pennsylvania,  arrived  and  succeeded  in   keeping  the 
peace  to  some  extent  by  a  mixture  of  temporizing  and 
decided  measures.     By  the  end  of  the  year  he  even 
claimed  to  have  established  order  in  the  Territory. 

13.  The  heat  of  the  Kansas  discussion  in  Congress 
was  marked  by  an  Assault  upon  Charles  Sumner, 
Senator  from  Massachusetts.     In  a  speech  on  the  Kan- 
sas question  he  had  criticised  Senator  Butler,  of  South 
Carolina.     After  the  Senate's  adjournment,  May  2 ad, 
1856,  Representative  Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  a  rela- 
tive of  Butler,  entered  the  Senate  chamber,  struck  Surn- 
ner  senseless  to  the  floor,  and  then  beat  him  so  cruelly 
that  an  absence  of  several  years  in  Europe  was  neces- 
sary for  his  recovery.     The  House  passed  a  resolution 

1  For  the  consequent  attempt  of  the  House  to  limit  this  use  of  the  anry 
ice  posje  162. 


1 66  American  Politics.  ['856 

of  censure  upon  Brooks,  who  immediately  resigned  but 
was  unanimously  je-elected  by  his  district.  Massachu- 
setts declined  to  choose  another  Senator,  preferring  to 
leave  Sumner's  empty  chair  as  her  silent  protest  against 
unpunished  violence. 

14.  The  Know  Nothing  National  Convention 
met  at  Philadelphia,  February  22d,  1856.  It  adopted 
a  platform  which  declared  that  Americans  must  rule 
America,  and  that  naturalization  should  only  be  granted 
after  21  years'  residence,  and  condemned  the  repeal  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise.  The  Anti-Slavery  delegates 
(one-fourth  of  all  the  Convention)  withdrew  because  of 
a  refusal  to  endorse  the  right  of  Congress  to  re-establish 
the  Missouri  Compromise  Line.  The  Convention  then 
nominated  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  and  An- 
drew Jackson  Donelson,  of  Tennessee.  These  nomi 
nations  (but  not  the  platform)  were  accepted  by  a 
convention  of  delegates  from  the  remnants  of  the  great 
Whig  wreck,  held  at  Baltimore,  September  lyth.  The 
Democratic  National  Convention  met  at  Cincin- 
nati, June  2d,  and  adopted  the  strict  constructionist 
platform  of  former  Conventions.  It  added  to  it  a  con- 
demnation of  K.now  Nothingism,  and  an  approval  of 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  and  the  substitution  of 
Squatter  Sovereignty  for  the  Compromise  of  1820.'  It 
nominated  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  John 

1  From  this  time  party  platforms  become  so  long  and  ambiguous  that  onlj 
ihe  most  succinct  abstract  can  be  given.  The  reader  is  referred  to  Greeley't 
Political  Text  Book  for  1860,  and  to  the  Tribune,  World,  and  Herald  Almanacr 
lincc  i8£o,  for  the  platfonr^  in  full 


1856.]  Presidential  Election.  1 6; 

C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky.  The  Republican 
National  Convention  met  at  Philadelphia,  June 
1 7th,  and  adopted  a  loose  constructionist  platform.  It 
declared  ill  favor  of  Internal  Improvements  (including 
a  Pacific  Railway',  and  of  the  right  and  duty  of  Con 
gress  to  prohibit  Slavery  and  Polygamy  in  the  Terri 
lories  and  admit  Kansas  as  a  Free  State,  and  agains*. 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  the  genera* 
policy  of  the  Administration,  and  the  extension  of  Slav- 
ery. Its  nominations  were  John  C.  Fremont,  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey. 

15.  The  Know  Nothings  and  Whigs  had  denounced 
both  the  Democrats  and  Republicans  as  sectional,  or 
"  geographical "  parties.     But  Fillmore's  supporters  had 
no  remedy  to  offer  for  the  troubles  caused  by  Slavery. 
In  the  Presidential  Election  in  November,  there- 
fore, they  carried  but  one  State,  Maryland.    Democratic 
electors  were  chosen  by  the  remaining  fourteen  Slave 
States,  and  by  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Indiana,  Il- 
linois, and  California,  giving  them  a  majority  of  all. 
The  remaining  eleven  Free  States  chose  Republican 
electors.1     No  candidate  had  a  majority  of  the  popular 
vote. 

16.  Congress  met  December  ist,  1856.*    The  sud- 
XXXIVth  Congress,     den    crystallization    of    the 

2d  Session.  various     Anti-Slavery    ele- 

1  If  Pennsylvania  and  Illinois  had  chosen  Republican  electors  Fremont  a:U 
Dayton  would  have  be-Ti  elected. 

*  Senate,  40  Dem.,  15  Rep,  5  Kn.  N.  He  use,  108  Rep.,  83  IVsm  4f 
Kn.  N. 


1 68  American  Politics.  \_l&57 

ments  into  the  Republican  party  had  sligr  tly  altered 
the  political  proportions  of  the  House.  There  was  no 
party  majority  there,  though  the  Republicans  still  had 
the  greatest  number  of  votes.  At  this  Session  granti 
of  public  lands  were  made  to  various  Western  and 
Southern  States  to  aid  the  construction  of  new  railroads. 
The  Tariff  of  1857  was  passed  by  both  Houses,  and 
became  law.  It  reduced  duties  on  imports  to  a  rate 
lower  than  those  of  any  Tariff  since  that  of  1816. 

17.  The  Kansas  troubles  took  up  much  of  the  time 
of  this   Session.     January   6th,  1857,  the   Free   State 
Legislature  again  attempted  to  meet  at  Topeka,  and 
was  again  dispersed  by  Federal  interference.     Its  pre- 
siding officer  and  many  of  its  members  were  arrested 
by  a  United  States  deputy  marshal.     The  Territorial, 
or  Pro-Slavery,  Legislature  quarreled  with  Gov.  Geary, 
who   resigned,  and    Robert   J.  Walker,  of  Mississippi, 
was  appointed  in  his  stead.     A  resolution  was  passed 
by  the  House  declaring  the  Acts  of  the  Territorial  Leg- 
islature  cruel,  oppressive,  illegal,  and   void.     It   was 
tabled  by  the  Senate. 

18.  In    February,   1857,   the   electoral   votes   were 
counted.     The  5  votes  of  Wisconsin  had  not  been  cast 
on  the  3d  of  December,  as  required  by  law,  but  on  th 
4th,  and  many  members  were  disposed  to  debate  thei 
legality.     But  the  presiding  officer  declared  all  debat 
out  of  order,  and  announced  the  votes,  including  those 
Df  Wisconsin  to  be   174  for  Buchanan  and  Breckin 
ridge,  114  for  Fremont  and  Dayton,  and  8  for  Fillmore 
and  Donelson.     Buchanan  and  Breckinridge  were 


1 85  7.]  The  Electoral  Votes.  169 

therefore  declared  elected.  March  3d,  1857,  Congress 
adjourned,  and  March  4th  Buchanan  and  Breckinndge 
were  s  .vorn  into  office. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EIGHTEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1857-1861. 

fames  Buchanan,  President.   John  C.  Breckinridge,  Vice-President 
XXXVth  and  XXXVIth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1856:  Dem.  1,838,169, 
Rep.  1,341,264,  Kn.  N.  874,534. 

i.  Two  days  after  Buchanan's  Inauguration  the  Su- 
preme Court  rendered  final  judgment  in  the  Dred 
Scott  Case.  It  had  been  decided  in  1856,  but  it  had 
been  thought  best  to  reserve  judgment  until  the  excite- 
ment of  the  Presidential  electu  n  should  subside.  This, 
though  one  of  the  most  important  cases  ever  decided 
in  the  United  States,  was  originally  a  case  of  simple 
assault  and  battery.  Dred  Scott  was  a  Missouri  slave. 
His  owner  took  him  in  1834  to  Illinois,  a  State  in 
which  Slavery  was  prohibited  by  statute,  allowed  him 
to  marry  and  live  there  until  1838.  and  then  took  him 
to  Minnesota,  a  Territory  in  which  Slavery  was  pro 
hibited  by  the  Act  of  Congress  of  1820,  known  as  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  Thence  his  owner  took  hiir 
back  to  Missouri.  Here  he  was  whipped  for  some  of 
lense,  and  brought  suit  for  damages,  claiming  to  hav? 
170 


1 85 7.]  The  Case  of  Dred  Scctt.  171 

become  a  free  man  by  his  residence  in  Illinois  and 
Minnesota.  The  owner's  demurrer  denied  that  the 
plaintiff  was  a  citizen,  or  could  sue,  since  he  was  de- 
scended from  slave  ancestors,  and  never  had  been  set 
free.  This  was  decided  against  him  by  the  State  Cir- 
cuit Court  of  Missouri,  and  judgment  given  in  favor  of 
Dred  Scott.  By  successive  appeals  the  -case  finallj 
reached  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 

2.  The  Decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  startled  the 
Northern  States.  It  declared,  in  substance,  that  the 
ancestors  of  negro  slaves  were  not  regarded  as  person," 
by  the  founders  of  the  government,  but  as  chattels,  as 
things,  "  who  had  no  rights  or  privileges  but  such  as 
those  who  held  the  power  and  the  government  mighl 
choose  to  grant  them;"  that  Dred  Scott,  the  plaintiff 
in  error,  was  consequently  no  citizen  of  Missouri,  but  a 
thing,  without  standing  in  Court,  and  his  case  must  be 
dismissed  for  want  of  jurisdiction;  and  that  his  resi- 
dence in  Minnesota  could  avail  him  nothing,  because 
the  Act  of  Congress  of  1820,  prohibiting  Slavery  north 
of  the  parallel  of  36°  30',  was  unconstitutional  ano 
void,  and  could  not  prevent  a  slave-owner  from  settling 
in  any  Territory  with  all  his  property.  The  Court 
further  took  occasion  to  observe  that  Congress  had  no 
more  right  to  prohibit  the  carrying  of  slaves  into  any 
State  or  Territory  than  it  had  to  prohibit  the  carrying 
thither  of  horses  or  any  other  property,  for  slaves  were 
property,  whose  secure  possession  was  guaranteed  by 
the  Constitution.1 

1  On  the  contrary,  the  dissenting  Justices  of  the  Court  and  the  mass  of  tin 
N'otthetn    people,  considered  slaves  as  a  kind  of  property  whose  secure  po» 


172  American  Politics.  [1857 

3.  The  Dred  Scott  decision  marks  the  last  attempt 
to  decide  the  contest  between  Slavery  Extension 
and  Slavery  Restriction  by  form  of  law,  and  from 
this  time  the  course  of  events  tends  with   increasing 
rapidity  to  a  settlement  by  force.     The  first  Compro- 
mise (in  1820)  had  prohibited  Slavery  in  part  of  the 
Territories,  leaving  the  question  open  as  to   the  re- 
mainder.    The  next  Compromise  (in  1850-1852)  had 
opened  all  the  Territories  to  Slavery,  if  established  by 
Popular  Sovereignty.     In  both  of  these  the  whole  peo- 
ple had  agreed.     But  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  in  its 
logical  consequences,  opened  all  the  Territories  and  all 
the  Free  States  to  at  least  a  temporary  establishment 
of  Slavery,  wherever  a  slave-owner  might  see   fit  to 
carry  his  slaves.     It  was  plain  that  this  would  never  be 
received  as  law  by  the  Free  States.     The  only  prac- 
tical results  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  therefore,  were 
to  show  the  failure  of  the  Supreme  Court  as  an  arbiter, 
and  to  call  the  attention  of  the  North  to  the  imprac- 
ticable demands  of  the  slave-owners.     It  will  be  seen 
that  the  Northern  (or  Douglas)  Democrats,  who  had 
supported  the  South  heretofore,  refused  at  this  point  to 
follow  the  Southern  lead  further,  and  chose  rather  to 
divide  the  party. 

4.  By  the  representation  given  by  the  Constitution  tc 
three-fifths  of  the  slave  population,1  the  300,000  slave- 
owners had  grown  into  a  Slave  Power.     In  1857  thei 

Cession  was  guaranteed  only  by  the  State  laws  which  made  them  propeity 
Leaving  the  State  they  lost  the  guarantee  afforded  by  State  laws. 

1  By  which  the  owner  of  1,000  slaves  was  equal  in  political  power  to  6ar 
•oo-slave-h  jl  le  rs.  • 


185 7-]  The  Slave  Power.  173 

controlled  the  South,  the  South  controlled  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  the  Democratic  party  controlled  the 
Union.  They  were  becoming  extremely  doubtful  of 
success  in  the  Kansas  struggle,  where  they  were  evi 
dently  overmatched  by  the  superior  power,  resources,  and 
enthusiasm  of  the  Free  States.  They  had  not  received 
the  expected  increase  of  Slave  States  and  United  States 
Senators  from  the  territory  wrested  from  Mexico.1- 
Should  they  fail  in  making  Kansas  a  Slave  State,  they 
saw  but  three  available  courses  to  pursue — to  add  Cuba 
to  the  Union  as  material  for  new  Slave  States,  to  ac- 
quire new  and  more  populous  territory  south  of  Texas 
for  the  same  purpose,  or  to  re-open  the  African  slave 
trade.  Failing  in  all  these,  they  desired  a  secession,  or 
separation,  from  the  Free  States,  and  the  formation  of 
an  independent  government,  in  which  Slavery  would  be 
secured  from  all  attacks  or  restrictions. 

5.  The  Purchase  of  Cuba  had  been  vainly  at- 
tempted at  various  times  since  the  inauguration  of 
President  Polk,  and  a  growing  disposition  was  apparent 
in  the  South  to  take  it  from  Spain  by  force.  In  1853, 
therefore,  England  and  France  asked  the  United  States 
to  join  in  a  tripartite  agreement  to  guarantee  Cuba  to 
Spain  forever.  The  proposition  was  rejected.  In  1854 

1  By  forming  new  Southern  States  to  balance  new  Northern  States,  the  tvfl 
isctions  were  carefully  kept  in  equilibrium  until  1845,  when  Texas  was  ad- 
mitted, (See  Appendices  C  and  F).  After  that  time  five  new  Northern  States 
were  admitted,  and  others  were  evidently  almost  ready  for  application,  whil« 
no  new  Southern  States  could  be  formed  to  counterbalance  them.  The  con- 
sequent  impossibility  of  maintaining  a  future  equality  in  the  Senate  seems  U 
have  been  the  primary  cause  of  alarm  in  the  South.  For  the  preseat  proper 
bon  10  the  Senate  see  Appendix  G. 


American  Politics.  ['^Sy 

the  American  Ministers  to  England,  France,  and  Spain, 
meeting  in  the  Belgian  town  of  Ostend,  had  published 
the  so-called  Ostend  Manifesto,  which  declared 
that  there  was  no  hope  of  safety  or  repose  for  the 
United  States  without  the  acquisition  of  Cuba.  But, 
so  long  as  England,  France,  and  Spain  were  united  in 
opposing  it,  there  was  little  hope  for  the  South  in  the 
direction  of  Cuba. 

6.  In  1851  began  the  Era  of  Filibustering  Ex- 
peditions against  Cuba  and  Central  America,  with 
the  ultimate  design  of  adding  slave  territory  to  the 
United  States.     Lopez,  a  Cuban,  with  500  men,  sailed 
from  New  Orleans  to  conquer  Cuba.     He  was  defeated 
and  executed,  and  his  men  imprisoned.     In  1855  Wil- 
iam  Walker,  of  Tennessee,  sailed  from  New  Orleans  to 
conquer   Central   America.     He   was   repeatedly   de- 
feated, but   repeatedly  renewed   his   expeditions   until 
1858,  when  he  was  captured  by  the  President  of  Hon- 
duras, and  shot.     This  ended  filibustering. 

7.  The  re-opening  of  the  African  Slave  Trade 
was  already  seriously  demanded  by  many  slave-owners. 
They  believed  that  the  South  had  been  overpowered  in 
the   Kansas  struggle  because  of  her  inability  to  poui 
slaves  into  the  new  Territory  at  once.     There  seemed 
a  strong  probability  that  Southern  leaders  would  en- 
deavor to  obtain  from  the  next  Democratic  Conven 
lion  a  declaration  in  favor  of  renewing  the  slave  trad* 
with  Africa. 

8.  Congress  *uet  Decpmbei  yth,  1857   with  a  Dem- 


1 85  7.]         The  Lecompton  Constitution.  1/3 

XXXVth    Congress,     ocratic     majority    in     both 
ist  Session.  branches.1     In    the    House 

James  L.  Orr,  of  South  Carolina,  a  Democrat,  was 
chosen  Speaker.  The  debates  of  this  Session  were 
mainly  upon  the  last  scene  in  the  Kansas  struggle. 
Governor  Walker  had  succeeded  in  persuading  the  Frc« 
State  settlers  to  recognize  the  Territorial  Legislature  so 
far  as  to  take  part  in  the  election  which  it  had  ordered.  - 
The  result  gave  them  control  of  the  Legislature.  But 
a  previously  elected  Pro-Slavery  Convention,  sitting  at 
Lecompton,  went  on  to  form  a  State  Constitution. 
This  was  to  be  submitted  to  the  people,  but  only  votes 
"  For  the  Constitution  with  Slavery,"  or  "  For  the  Con- 
stitution without  Slavery  "  were  to  be  received.  Not 
being  allowed  in  either  event  to  vote  against  the  Con- 
stitution, the  Free  State  settlers  refused  to  vote  at  all, 
and  the  Lecompton  Constitution  with  Slavery  re- 
ceived 6,000  majority.  The  new  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture, however,  ordered  an  election  at  which  the  people 
could  vote  for  or  against  the  Lecompton  Constitution, 
and  a  majority  of  10,000  was  cast  against  it.3 

9.  On  the  first  day  of  the  Session  the  Republican 
Congressmen  united  in  publishing  a  protest  against  any 
effort  to  make  Kansas  a  Slave  State  against  the  wish  of 
sier  people.  The  President's  Message  argued  in 
favor  of  receiving  Kansas  as  a  State  under  the  Le- 

1  Senate,  39  Dem.,  20  Rep.,  5  Kn.  N.  House,  I «  Dem.,  92  Rep.,  i« 
Kn.  N. 

*  But  this  vote  was  considered  worthless  by  the  advocates  of  the  Lecomptoi 
Constitution,  on  the  ground  that  the  Territorial  Legislature  had  no  power  ti 
•rder  it. 


176  American  Politics.  [1858. 

compton  Constitution  with  Slavery,  on  the  ground  thai 
the  delegates  had  been  chosen  to  form  a  State  Const!' 
tution,  and  were  not  obligated  to  submit  it  to  the  peo- 
ple at  all.  This  view  was  supported  by  the  Southern 
members  of  Congress,  and  opposed  by  the  Republicans 
and  by  a  part  of  the  Democrats,  headed  by  Senator 
Douglas,  of  Illinois.1  The  Senate  passed  a  bill  admit 
ting  Kansas  as  a  State,  under  the  Lecompton  Consti- 
tution. The  House  passed  the  bill,  with  the  proviso 
that  the  Constitution  should  again  be  submitted  to  a 
popular  vote.  The  Senate  rejected  the  proviso.  A 
conference  committee  recommended  that  the  bill  of  the 
House  should  be  adopted,  with  an  additional  proviso 
making  large  grants  of  public  lands  to  the  new  State, 
if  the  people  of  Kansas  should  vote  to  adopt  the  Le- 
compton Constitution.  In  this  form  the  bill  was  passed 
by  both  Houses,  and  became  law.  An  attempt  was 
made  without  success  to  appropriate  public  lands  to  the 
States  for  educational  purposes.  Congress  adjourned 
June  ist,  1858. 

10.  Minnesota  had  become  a  State  of  the  Union 
May  nth,  1858.  In  the  case  of  Kansas  the  proffered 
inducement  of  public  lands  was  a  failure,  and  in  Au- 
gust the  Lecompton  Constitution  was  rejected  by  10,000 
majority.  Kansas,  therefore,  still  remained  a  Territory. 
In  1859,  at  an  election  called  by  the  Territorial  Legis- 
lature, the  people  decided  in  favor  of  another  Conven- 

1  "  It  is  not  satisfactory  to  me  to  have  the  President  say,  in  his  Message 
that  that  Constitution  is  an  admirable  one.  That  is  none  of  my  business,  and 
aone  of  yours.  You  have  no  right  to  force  an  unexceptionable  Co.  stituUcn  upof 
t  people." — (Douglas,  Speech  in 


1859-]        The  Harper's  Ferry  Rising.  177 

tion  to  form  a  S;ate  Constitution.  This  body  met  at 
Wyandot,  in  July,  1859,  and  adopted  a  State  Consti- 
tution prohibiting  Slavery.  The  Wyandot  Consti- 
tution was  submitted  to  the  people  and  received  a  ma- 
jority of  4,000  in  its  favor. 

1 1.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1858.*     Party  con- 
XXXVth  Congress,     test   at  this   Session  centred 

ad  Session.  upon  the  Homestead  Bill, 

wbxh  gave  heads  of  families  the  right  to  purchase  160 
a-jres  of  public  lands  at  $1.25  per  acre.  It  was  passed 
by  the  House,  but  postponed  by  the  Senate.  The  bill 
to  appropriate  public  lands  for  educational  purposes 
was  passed,  but  vetoed  by  the  President.  Congress  ad- 
journed March  3d,  1859.  February  i4th,  1859,  Ore- 
gon had  become  a  State  of  the  Union. 

12.  In  1859  some  of  the  extreme  Abolitionists  de- 
termined to  try  the  Southern  policy  of  filibustering. 
John   Brown,  a  native  of  Connecticut,2  had  gone  to 
Kansas  in  1855,  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Ossawat- 
tomie.     Here  he  became  so  noted  as  a  leader  in  carry- 
ing the  war  into  the  Pro-Slavery  district  that  rewaro* 
for  his  arrest  were  offered  by  the  Governor  and  to.- 
President.     He   thereupon  left    Kansas,  and  in   July, 
1859,  settled  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Md.,  with  the  desper- 
ate intention  of  beginning  a  general  insurrection  of  the 
slave  race.     His  family  and  some  of  his  Kansas  asso- 
ciates were  with  him.     October   lyth,  having  matured 

'  Party  strength  was  unchanged  except  that  n  members  of  the  House  no* 
tasaea  as  Anti-Lecompton  Democrats,  and  116  supported  the  Adnr'nistration 
1  He  had  for  som*  time  lived  in  '   John  Brown's  Tract"  in  N«\v  York. 
12 


£78  American  Politics.  [1859 

their  plans  and  prepared  arms,  they  seized  the  town  of 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  United  States  Arsenal,  with 
all  the  arms  contained  in  it.  The  news  created  a  wild 
alarm  in  the  South.  Virginia  and  Maryland  militia 
were  hurried  to  Harper's  Ferry.  After  a  spirited  de- 
fense, most  of  Brown's  associates  were  shot,  and  theii 
wounded  leader  and  a  few  others  were  taken  prisoners, 
tried,  and  hanged  by  the  State  of  Virginia.  John 
Brown's  execution  took  place  December  2d,  1859. 

13.  Congress  met   December   5th,   1859,*  with   a 
XXXVIth  Congress,     Democratic  majority  in  the 

ist  Session.  Senate.     In  the  House  the 

Republican  vote  was  the  largest,  but  there  was  no 
party  majority.  Balloting  for  a  Speaker  was  con- 
tinued for  eight  weeks,  interrupted  by  angry  debates 
upon  a  recently  published  Abolitionist2  book  called 
"  The  Impending  Crisis  in  the  South,"  and  upon  the 
Harper's  Ferry  insurrection.  February  ist,  1860,  Wil- 
liam Pennington,  of  New  Jersey,  a  Republican,  was 
chosen  Speaker.  In  the  Senate  resolutions  were  at 
once  introduced  affirming,  in  substance,  that  Congress 
and  Territorial  Legislatures  had  no  power  to  prohibit 
Slavery  in  the  Territories.  They  were  debated,  at  in- 
tervals, for  nearly  four  months,  and  then  passed  by  a 
party  vote. 

14.  A  most  unpleasant  feature  of  this  Session  was 

1  Senate,  38  Dem.,  25  Rep.,  2  Kn.  N.  House,  109  Rep.,  86  Dem.,  13  Atti 
Lecompton  Dem.,  22  Kn.  N. 

*  The  term  "  Abolitionist"  was  then  one  of  reproach.  It  is  hardly  I  ece« 
nuy  to  say  that  it  is  not  so  used  in  the  text 


i86o.]          The  Covode  Investigation.  179 

the  so-called  Covode  Investigation  by  a  committee 
of  the  House.  Two  members  of  the  House1  had  de 
clared  in  debate  that  they  had  been  offered  induce- 
ments by  the  Administration  to  vote  for  the  Lecompton 
Bill,  and  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed,  on  motion 
of  Covode.  of  Pennsylvania,  to  investigate  the  charge. 
The  President  protested  against  the  investigation.  Af- 
ter a  tedious  investigation  of  three  months  the  Repub- 
lican majority  reported  that  the  Administration  had 
been  guilty  of  bribing  members  of  Congress  and  editors 
of  newspapers  to  favor  the  Lecompton  Bill.  The 
Democratic  minority  defended  and  exonerated  the 
President.  No  further  action  was  taken  in  the  matter. 

15  The  Homestead  Bill,  which  was  passed  at 
the  last  Session,  was  again  passed  by  the  House.  The 
Senate  passed  a  substitute,  to  which  the  House  agreed, 
giving  public  lands  to  actual  settlers  at  25  cents  per 
acre.  It  was  vetoed  by  the  President  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  unjust  to  the  older  States  in  really  giving 
away  lands  to  the  newer  States.2  The  application  of 
Kansas  for  admission  as  a  State  under  the  Wyandot 
Constitution3  #as  approved  by  the  House,  but  rejectt'! 
by  the  Senate.  Consequently  Kansas  still  remained  a 
Territory.  Congress  adjourned  June  i8th,  1860. 

16.  The  Democratic  National  Convention  met 

1  Hickman  and  G.  B.  Adrain. 

*  The  Senate  substitute  seems  to  have  been  purposely  drawn  so  as  to  pro- 
voke a  veto,  if  possible.     The  Southern  opposition  to  a  Homestead  Bill  seerr* 
to  have  come  from  the  apprehension  that  it  would  increase  immigration  in  th« 
North-West,  and  thus  increase  the  Free  State  representaf  on  in  the  Senate. 

*  Sec  i>u£c  177. 


180  American  Politics.  [1860 

at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  April  23d,  1860.  The  proceed- 
ings were  stormy,  and  resulted  in  the  splitting  of  the 
Convention  and  the  party  into  two  distinct  fragments, 
through  the  refusal  of  the  Northern  (or  Douglas)  Dem- 
ocrats to  agree  to  the  demands  of  the  Southern  wing 
Both  factions  re-affirmed  the  strict  constructionist  plat 
forms  of  past  Conventions,  and  declared  for  a  Pacifi 
Railway  and  for  the  acquisition  of  Cuba.  The  South 
ern  delegates  offered  additional  resolutions  affirming 
the  doctrine  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  that  neither 
Congress  nor  the  Territorial  Legislatures  had  a  right  to 
prohibit  Slavery  in  the  Territories.  The  Douglas  Dem- 
ocrats, refusing  to  abandon  Popular  Sovereignty  openly, 
offered  a  resolution  that  the  party  would  abide  by  the 
decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  Convention 
adopted  the  Douglas  platform,  whereupon  the  delega- 
tions from  many  Southern  States  successively  protested 
and  withdrew.  The  Convention  then  proceeded  to  bal- 
lot fifty-seven  times  for  candidates  without  a  choice,  and 
adjourned  to  meet  again  at  Baltimore,  June  i8th.  When 
it  re-assembled  several  new  Douglas  delegations  were 
admitted,  whereupon  the  few  remaining  Southern  dele- 
gates also  withdrew.  The  Convention  then  nominated 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  and  Herschel  V.  John- 
on,  of  Georgia. 

17.  The  Seceding  Delegates  had  a  once  organ- 
iied  a  new  Convention  in  Charleston,  adopted  theii 
platform,  and  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  June  nth.  Here  they  adjourned  again,  re-as- 
•embled  at  Baltimore,  June  28th,  and  nominated  John 


r86o.]  National  Conventions  181 

C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  Joseph  Lane,  ol 
Oregon.  The  former  American  (or  Know  Nothing} 
party,  now  calling  itself  the  Constitutional  Union 
Party,  held  its  National  Convention  at  Baltimore, 
May  i gth,  and  adopted  an  evasive  platform,  declaring 
as  its  political  principles  "  The  Constitution  of  the 
country,  the  Union  of  the  States,  and  the  enforcement 
of  the  laws."  It  nominated  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee, 
and  Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts.  The  Repub- 
lican National  Convention  met  at  Chicago,  May 
1 6th,  and  adopted  a  loose  constructionist  platform. 
This  outspoken  document  quoted  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  as  to  the  freedom  and  equality  of  all 
men ;  denounced  Democratic  threats  of  disunion,  and 
Democratic  administration  in  Kansas  and  at  Washing- 
ton ;  declared  that  freedom  was  the  normal  condition 
of  the  Territories,  which  Congress  was  bound  to  pre- 
serve and  defend;  and  pronounced  in  favor  of  Protec- 
tion, Internal  Improvements,  the  Homestead  Bill,  and 
a  Pacific  Railway.  It  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln, 
of  Illinois,  and  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine. 

1 8.  Four  Parties  were  now  in  the  field.  The  Bell 
platform  meant  simply  to  evade  the  question  of  Slavery 
altogether.  The  Lincoln  platform  avowed  a  purpose 
to  exclude  Slavery  from  the  Territories  at  any  cost. 
The  Breckinridge  platform  avowed  a  purpose  to  carry 
Slavery  into  the  Territories  at  any  cost.  The  Doug- 
las platform  aimed  to  throw  the  responsibility  of  <- 
decision  of  the  Slavery  question  upon  the  Supreme 
Court,  or  upon  the  people  of  the  Territories,  or  any- 
where, in  short,  except  upon  the  Democratic  party 


1 32  American  Politics.  [i860 

The  discordai/t  efforts  of  the  three  parties  opposed  tc 
the  Republicans  only  made  Lincoln's  election  more 
certain,  and  at  the  Presidential  Election  in  No- 
vember Republican  electors  were  chosen  by  every  Free 
State  but  one,1  giving  them  a  majority  of  all  the  elect- 
oral votes.  No  candidate  had  a  majority  of  the  popu- 
1  ir  vote.  Breckinridge  electors  were  chosen  by  most  of 
the  Southern  States. 

19.  The  South  Carolina  Legislature,  which  had  met 
to  choose  electors,2  remained  in  session  until  Lincoln's 
election  was  assured.     It  then  called  a  State  Convex 
tion  and  adjourned.     The  South  Carolina  Senators  and 
office-holders  in  the  Federal  service  at  once  resigned. 
December   2oth  the    Convention  unanimously  passed 
an   Ordinance   of  Secession,  entitled  "An   Ordi- 
nance to  dissolve  the  union  between  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  and  other  States  united  with  her  in  the  com- 
pact entitled  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
America."     Copies  of  this  Ordinance  were  sent  to  the 
other   Slave   States,  and   commissioners   appointed  to 
treat  for  the  division  of  national  property  and  of  the 
public  debt. 

20.  This  bold  step  of  the  little  State  of  South  Caro- 
lina, was  relied  upon,  and  with  good  reason,  by  the  dis- 
tuiionists  of  the  South  to  "  fire  the  Southern  heart,"  and 
urge  on  Secession  by  other  States.     Under  tha 
spur  of  an  unwillingness  to  abandon  their  smaller  sis- 
ter, other  Slave  States  rapidly  came  abieast  with  her 
Before   the  end  of  January,  1861,  Georgia,  Alabama, 

1  New  Jersey,  where  fo  ir  Lincoln  and  three    Douglas  electors  we.'c  chosct 
1  See  page  102. 


i86i.]  Secession. — Compromise.  183 

Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas  had  passed 
Ordinances  of  Secession.  Tennessee,  North  Carolina. 
Arkansas,  and  the  Border  States  still  refused  to  join 
their  more  Southern  neighbors. 

21.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1860.      The  Pres 
XXXVIth  Congress,     ident's    Message    stated 

2d  Session.  his  inability  to  find  judges 

or  officers  in  the  South  to  issue  or  execute  process 
against  offenders,  and  his  own  opinion,  and  that  of  the 
Attorney-General,  that  under  such  circumstances  it  was 
impossible  legally  to  compel  a  State's  obedience.  The 
Message  argued  against  the  right  of  Secession  much  as 
did  Jackson's  Nullification  Proclamation  in  1832.  But 
the  latter  closed  with  a  warning,  to  which  the  known 
character  of  its  author  added  convincing  force,  that 
blood  would  flow  if  the  laws  were  resisted.  President 
Buchanan's  Message,  on  the  contrary,  summed  up  the 
whole  matter  by  saying,  in  effect,  that  he  knew  not 
what  to  do,  for  he  did  not  believe  that  Congress  could 
constitutionally  make  war  upon  a  State. 

22.  It  would  be  wearisome  to  detail  the  long  list  ot 
propositions    for   compromise    and    conciliation   with 
which   this   Session  was   chiefly  occupied.     The   one 
which  seemed  most  likely  to  succeed  was  the  Critten- 
den  Compromise.1     Its  main  provisions  were  that 
Slavery  should  be  prohibited  nortb  of  the  parallel  of 
36°  30',  and  recognized  and  never  interfered  with  b) 
Congress  south  of  that  line,  and  that  the  Federal  Gov 
eminent  should  pay  for  slaves  rescued  from   officers 
\fter  arrest.     These  provisions  were  to  be  made  a  part 

1  So  called  fiom  its  proposer,  John  J.  Crittendc.n,  of  Kentucky. 


1 84  American  Politics.  [1861 

ot  the  Constitution,  and  were  never  to  be  altered  01 
amended  while  the  Union  existed.  This  measure 
failed  to  receive  the  Republican  vote,  without  which 
the  Southern  members  refused  to  entertain  it. 

23.  February  4th,  1861,  a  Peace  Congress,  com 
posed  of  delegates  from  13  Free  and  7  Border  States 
met  at  Washington  at  the  request  of  the  Virginia  Leg 
islature.     It  adopted  and  reported  to  Congress  a  num- 
ber of  resolutions  making  various  concessions  to  South- 
ern  demands.     Congress   threw   all   these   aside,  and 
passed,  as  a  substitute,  an  Amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution  proposed   by  Senator   Douglas,  which   forbade 
Congress  ever  to  interfere  with  Slavery  in  the  States.1 

24.  While  these  measures  were  being  uselessly  de- 
bated, the  work  of  Secession  was  pressed  with  energy 
and  ability.     Time  which  should  have  been  spent  in 
making  the  Federal  Government  ready  to  assert  its 
supremacy   was   wasted   in   dallying   with   theoretical 
cures  for  incurable   evils.      Even   during  the  debates 
the  occasional  farewells  and  departures  of  Southern  Sen- 
ators and  Representatives  would  announce  that  anothei 
State  had  seceded  without  waiting  to  be  conciliated. 
In  February,  1861,  a  Convention  of  delegates  from  the 
seceding  States  met  at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  and  formed 
a  government  called  the  Confederate    States  o! 
America.     Its  organization  was  a  tribute  to  the  ex- 
cellence  of  the   Constitution   of   1787,  for   it   mainly 
copied  that  instrument,  except  that  it  recognized  Slav- 
ery, ana  forbade  Protective  Tariffs.     Jefferson  Davis, 

I  This  Amendment  vas  never  adopted  by  the  necessary  number  of  State* 


1 86 1.]  The  Confederate.  States.  i8j 

of  Mississippi,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia 
were  chosen  President  and  Vice- President.  A  Cabine 
was  at  once  appointed,  and  arrangements  were  hastily 
made  to  organize  an  army,  navy,  and  treasury.  United 
States  forts,  arsenals,  and  arms  were  seized,  and  bat- 
teries were  prepared  for  the  reduction  of  the  forts  which 
resisted,  particularly  Fort  Sumter,  in  Charleston  Harbor. 
25.  As  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  of  Southern 
members  of  Congress  had  withdrawn  to  give  the  Re- 
publicans a  majority  in  both  Houses,  Kansas  was  ad- 
mitted as  a  State  under  the  Wyandot  Free  State  Con- 
stitution, and  the  Territories  of  Nevada,  Colora- 
do, and  Dakota  were  organized  without  mention  of 
Slavery,  thus  giving  the  South  the  benefit  of  the  Dred 
Scott  decision  therein.  The  so-called  Morrill  Tariff 
of  1861  was  also  passed  by  both  Houses  and  became 
law.  Its  great  object  was  the  protection  of  manufact- 
ures, revenue  being  a  secondary  consideration.1  In 
February,  1861,  the  electoral  votes  were  counted,  and 
were  found  to  be,  for  Lincoln  and  Hamlin  180,  for 
Breckinridge  and  Lane  72,  for  Bell  and  Everett  39, 
and  for  Douglas  and  Johnson  12.  Lincoln  and 
Hamlin  were  therefore  declared  elected.  After  au- 
thorizing a  loan  and  an  issue  of  Treasury  notes,  this 
dismal  Session  of  Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1861, 
and  March  4th  Lincoln  and  Hamlin  were  sworn  into 
office. 

1  From  this  time  the  subject  of  Internal  Improvements  drops  out  of  politics 
Both  parties  appear  to  recognize  the  right  of  Congress  to  appropriate  monej 
for  isolated  public  improvements,  and  the  project  of  a  connected  system  c4 
Canals,  etc  ,  has  not  yet  been  formally  revived. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

NINETEENTH  ADMINISTRATION,  1861-1865. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  President.        Hannibal  Hamlin,  Vice-President 
XXXVIIth  and  XXXVIIIth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1860:  Rep.  1,866,352, 
Const.  Union  589,581,  Dem.  2,220,920  (Dougla* 
1,375^ 57>  Breckinridge  845,763). 

i.  WHEN  the  New  Administration  entered  office 
affairs  seemed  almost  desperate.  Seven  States  had  al- 
ready revolted,  and  others  were  notoriously  ready  to 
join  them  upon  the  first  attempt  to  exert  the  National 
authority.  Part  of  the  Federal  army  had  surrendered, 
and  most  of  the  remainder  were  beleaguered  in  isolated 
forts.  The  Federal  ships  of  war  had  generally  been 
sent  to  distant  seas.  Many  of  the  experienced  officers 
^1  the  army  and  navy  had  taken  service  under  the  re 
bellious  Confederacy.  A  large  part  of  the  Federa 
munitions  of  war,  having  been  previously  transferred  to 
Southern  arsenals,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  in- 
surgents. The  Federal  Treasury,  by  defalcation  and 
peculation,  was  nearly  bankrupt.  The  public  servants 
186 


1 86 1.]  Civil  War.  187 

like  those  of  a  dying  king,  seemed  anxious  only  to  se- 
cure as  much  plunder  as  possible  and  decamp.  In  the 
South  the  numbers  of  those  who  desired  a  permanent 
Southern  Confederacy  were  being  increased  daily  by 
accessions  from  those  who  had  at  first  intended  only  to 
remain  out  of  the  Union  long  enough  to  secure  guarau 
tees  for  the  future  safety  of  Slavery.  And  yet  men  of 
all  parties  in  the  North,  blind  to  the  certainty  of  ap- 
proaching war,  were  still  busied  with  plans  to  conciliate 
the  revolted  States  by  any  concession  except  that  of 
nationalizing  Slavery. 

2.  The  announced  purpose  of  the  President  to  re- 
supply  Fort  Sumter  precipitated  an  attack  upon  it 
by  the  rebel  forces  around  it.     After  a  bombardment 
of  thirty  hours,  the  American  flag,  for  the  first  time  in 
its  history,  was  lowered  under  the  fire  of  insurgent  citi- 
zens, and  the  fort  surrendered,  April   i4th,  1861.     The 
new?  woke  the  North  as  if  from  a  trance.     The  mass 
of  the  Democracy  were  even  more  furious  than  the  Re- 
publicans.    The  Southern   States  were  no  longer  '•  err- 
ing sisters,"  to  be  gently  conciliated.     The  whole  North 
clamored  for  arms,  for  leaders,  for  legal  authorization 
to  bring  the  South  back  to  law,  order,  and  obedience, 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 

3.  Civil  "War  had  fairly  begun.     For  the  first  time 
the  government,  in  time  of  war,  was  under  the  control 
of  a  loose  constructionist  party,  for  the  war  Democrats 
soon  became  absorbed  into  the  Republican  organiza- 
tion, and  the  resulting  f  ision  frequently  took  the  name 
of  the  Union  Party.     The  experiment  was  hazard 


1 88  American  Politics.  [1861 

ous.  In  previous  wars  the  Democratic  party,  though 
trammeled  by  its  strict  constructionist  theories,  had 
been  driven  to  strain  the  Constitution  to  conform  to  the 
necessities  of  the  hour.  But  the  sobering  responsibili- 
ties of  power,  and  the  active  (though  often  ill-timed 
opposition  of  the  Peace  Democrats,  checked  the  loose 
constructionist  theories  of  the  dominant  party,  and 
brought  the  Constitution  through  a  dreadful  struggle  ol 
four  years  with  less  change  than  might  have  been  an- 
ticipated. 

4.  The  President  at  once  called  for  75,000  volun- 
teers, and  called  an  Extra  Session  of  Congress. 
Through  the  spring  of  1861  the  State  governments  of 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Arkansas, 
which  had  hitherto  refused  to  secede,  followed  the 
same  general  line  of  action.  Military  Leagues 
were  made  with  the  Confederacy ;  Confederate  troops 
were  then  allowed  to  swarm  over  their  territory  •  and 
finally,  by  their  aid  and  countenance,  Ordinances  of 
Secession  were  passed.  Efforts  to  carry  out  this  plan 
in  Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  were 
not  successful.  By  the  time  set  for  the  meeting  of 
Congress  the  line  had  been  distinctly  drawn,  and  the 
rebellion  was  general  in  the  States  of  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Sou^h  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  Tennes- 
see.1 

'  About  40  Counties  of  Western  Virginia  refused  to  be  bound  by  the  actiot 
ol  the  rest  of  tbe  State,  and  formed  a  Legislature  which  claimed  to  be  th» 
real  Legislature  of  Virginia.  This  body  gave  the  assent  t^-\uired  by  the  C«» 


i86i.J  War  Measures.  i8c, 

5.  Congress  met  July  4th,  1861,  with  a  Republican 
KXXVIIth  Congress,     majority  in  both  branches. 
Extra  Session.  Only  the  Free  States  and 

the  Border  States  were  represented.  In  the  House 
Galusha  A.  Grow,  of  Pennsylvania,  a  Republican,  waa 
chosen  Speaker.  In  the  Senate  three  Senators,  who 
had  absented  themselves  to  take  part  in  the  rebellion 
were  expelled.  The  House  voted  to  consider  at  this 
Session  only  bills  concerning  the  military,  naval,  and 
financial  operations  of  the  Government.  The  energy 
of  the  proceedings  was  only  stimulated  by  the  disas 
trous  battle  of  Bull  Run,  July  2ist.  Bills  were  passed 
by  both  Houses  to  close  the  Southern  ports  against 
commerce,  to  authorize  a  loan,  to  appropriate  money 
for  the  army  and  navy,  to  call  out  500,000  volunteers, 
to  define  and  punish  conspiracy  against  the  United 
States,  and  to  confiscate  all  private  property,  including 
slaves,  employed  against  the  United  States.  The 
Tariff  Act  of  August  5th,  1861,  again  increased  the 
duties  on  imports.  The  House,  by  a  heavy  majority 
(121-5),  pledged  itself  ID  vote  any  amount  of  money 
and  any  number  of  men  necessary  to  put  down  the 
rebellion.  Propositions  looking  to  negotiations  for 
peace  were  constantly  offered  by  extreme  Democrats, 
and  as  constantly  voted  down  by  heavy  majorities  on 
the  ground  that  negotiation  with  armed  rebellion  was 

•titution  to  the  formation  of  a  new  State,  at  first  called  Kanawha,  afterwardi 
West  Virginia.  Congiess  recognized  their  right  to  do  so,  and  admitted  the 
Bew  State  in  1862. 

1  Senate,  R'-.p  31,  Dem.  it,  Union  5.     House,  Rep    106,  Dem.  42,  Unto* 
•8. 


190  American  Politics.  [1861 

unconstitutional.  Congress  adjourned  August  6th 
1861. 

6.  From  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment was  embarrassed  by  the  question  of  Fugitive 
Slaves.      August  3ist  General  John  C.  Fremont  had 
declared  the  slaves  of  Missouri  rebels  free  men,  but 

his  was  overruled  and  annulled  by  the  President.  In 
Virginia  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler  had  announced 
that  slaves  were  "  contraband  of  war,"  and  consequent- 
ly liable  to  confiscation  by  military  law.  Elsewhere  in 
the  Federal  lines  slave-owners,  on  proving  property 
were  generally  given  possession  of  their  fugitive  slaves 
The  disposition  of  the  North  was  to  put  down  the 
rebellion,  without  any  interference  with  the  Southern 
"institution"  of  Slavery.  But  it  was  plain  that  any 
long  continuance  of  the  rebellion  would  inevitably 
rouse  the  temper  of  the  Free  States,  and  provoke  hos- 
tility to  Slavery  itself. 

7.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1861.     Slavery  an** 
XXXVIIth  Congress,      The    Prosecution    of 

ist  Session.  the    'War   occupied  the 

Session.  Bills  were  passed  by  both  Houses  to  punish 
reason,  to  free  slaves  employed  against  the  Govern- 
ment, to  provide  for  the  construction  of  a  Pacific  Rail- 
way and  Telegraph,  and  to  donate  public  lands  to  the 
various  States  for  the  benefit  of  Agricultural  Colleges. 
The  army  was  forbidden  to  surrender  fugitive  slaves. 
The  Homestead  Bill1  was  brought  up  again  and 
passed.  Provision  \\  as  made  for  the  United  States 

1  Sty  page  170. 


1 862.]  Emancipation.  191 

representation  by  consuls  in  the  negro  states  of  Hayt.i 
and  Liberia.  A  stringent  form  of  oath '  was  prescribed, 
to  be  taken  by  United  States  officials  and  beneficia- 
ries. The  Act  of  February  25th,  1862,  provided  for  a 
legal  tender  National  Paper  Currency  (common- 
ly called  "greenbacks").  It  more  than  took  the 
place  of  the  favorite  measure  of  the  Federalists  and 
Whigs,  a  National  Bank.  Most  of  these  measures 
were  passed  by  party  votes.  The  Tariff  Act  of  De- 
cember 24th,  1861,  again  increased  the  duties  on  im- 
ports. Congress  adjourned  July  i7th,  1862. 

8.  During  the  summer  of  1862  the  President  at  last 
determined  to  use  Slavery  itself  as  a  means  either  of 
coercion  or  of  punishment.  By  proclamation,  there- 
fore, September  22d,  1862,  he  warned  the  revolting 
States  that,  unless  they  should  return  to  their  alle- 
giance by  January  ist,  1863,  he  would,  as  an  act  of 
military  necessity,  declare  the  slaves  in  those  States 
to  be  free  men.  As  this  proclamation  had  no  effect, 
he  issued  his  Emancipation  Proclamation,  Jan- 
uary ist,  1863,  in  the  terms  previously  announced.* 
The  two  years  of  civil  war  had  so  developed  anti- 
slavery  feeling  in  the  North  that  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  excited  no  such  opposition  as  would 
have  met  it  if  proposed  in  1861.  Nevertheless,  it 
caused  a  temporary  falling  off  in  the  Republican 
vote. 

1  Commonly  called  the  "  Iron  Clad  Oath." 

2  It  did  not  apply  to  the  slaves  in  States  not  in  rebellion,  nor*  to  the  por- 
tions of  rebellious  States  then  conquered.     For  these  an   Amendment  to  th« 
Constitution  was  necessary  (see  p.  195). 


192  American  Politics.  [1863, 

9.  Congress  met  December  ist,  1862.     Under  the 
XXXVIIth    Congress,     pressure    of    Military 

2d  Session.  Necessity  the  Acts  of 

this  Session  were  based  upon  a  looser  construction 
of  the  Constitution  than  those  of  the  previous  Ses- 
sion. An  Act  was  passed  to  legitimate  the  suspen- 
sion of  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus.  A  Draft  or 
Conscription  Act,  more  sweeping  than  that  proposed 
in  1814,'  was  adopted.  It  provided  that  a  part  of  the 
able-bodied  citizens  should  be  drawn  by  lot  for  service 
in  the  army.2  Land  grants  were  made  to  Kansas, 
and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  authorized  to 
obtain  further  loans.  Appropriations  for  this  year 
amounted  to  about  $972,000,000.  Congress  ad- 
journed March  3d,  1863.  West  Virginia  had 
become  a  State  of  the  Union,  December  3ist,  1862. 

10.  By  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  in  sub- 
stance, an  imprisoned  person  obtains  an  examination 
before  the  courts  and  a  release,  if  his  imprisonment  is 
shown  to  be  without  warrant  of  law.     Its  Suspen- 
sion was  considered  necessary  on  account  of  the  num- 
ber of  Northern  courts  disposed  to  resist  military  arrests 
of  suspected  persons.     It  is  certate,  however,  that  the 
summary  arrests  and  imprisonments  in  United  States 
forts,  the  seizures  of  newspapers,  and  the  dispersions 
of  public  meetings,  which  followed  the  suspension  of 
the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  did  much  to  increase  the 
opposition  vote  for  a  time.     The  month  of  July,  1863, 

1  See  p.  78. 


1 863  ]        Tht,  Draft. — Revenue  Laws.  \  93 

was  notable  for  the  sickening  scenes  of  the  thiee  days' 
Draft  Riot  in  New  York  City,  originating  in  resist- 
ance to  the  Conscription  Act  of  the  last  Session.  It 
was  forcibly  suppressed,  and  the  draft  was  carried  out. 

11.  Congress  met  December  yth,  1863,  with  a  Re- 
XXXVIIIth  Congress,     publican  majority  in  both 

ist  Session.  branches.1    In  the  House 

Schuyler  Colfax,  of  Indiana,  a  Republican,  was  chosen 
Speaker.  Both  Houses  passed  the  Internal  Rev- 
enue Law,  for  the  collection  of  a  revenue  from  do- 
mestic manufactures,  etc.,  the  Income  Tax  Law, 
levying  a  tax  of  five  per  cent,  on  incomes  over  $600, 
and  the  National  Bank  Law,  creating  a  system  of 
banks  to  take  the  place  of  State  banks.  The  Draft  and 
Homestead  Laws  were  amended  and  strengthened,  and 
the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850  was  abolished.  A 
proposed  XHIth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  abol- 
ishing Slavery  was  adopted  by  the  Senate,  but  did  not 
receive  a  two-thirds  majority  in  the  House.  Congress 
adjourned  July  2d,  1864. 

12.  A  Convention  of  Radical  Men,  who  consid- 
ered President  Lincoln  timid  and  irresolute,  and  who 
wished  to  deal  with  rebellion  and  rebels  more  harshly, 
met   at   Cleveland,  Ohio,  May   3ist,  1864,  and  nomi- 
nated  John   C.  Fremont,  of  California,  and  John  C 
Cochrane,  of  New   York.2    The    Republican    Na- 
tional Convention  met  at  Baltimore,  June  ;th,  and 

1  Senate,  36  Rep.,  14  Dem.     House,  102  Rep..  75  Deri.,  9  "Border  Statt 
men." 
*  They  afterwards  withdrew  in  favor  of  the  Rejubhca  i  candidates. 


194  American  Politics.  [1864 

adopted  a  platform  declaring  war  upon  Slavery,  and 
demanding  that  no  terms  but  unconditional  surrendei 
should  be  given  to  the  rebellious  States.  It  nominated 
Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  and  Andrew  Johnson,  of 
Tennessee.1  The  Democratic  National  Conven- 
tion met  at  Chicago,  August  29111.  It  came  under  th« 
control  of  the  Peace  Democracy,2  and  declared  ir.  its 
platform  that  it  was  the  sense  of  the  American  people 
that,  after  four  years  of  failure  to  restore  the  Union  by 
war,  during  which  the  Constitution  had  been  violated 
in  all  its  parts  under  the  plea  of  military  necessity,  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  ought  to  be  obtained.  It  nom- 
inated George  B.  McClellan,  of  New  Jersey,  and 
George  H.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio. 

13.  The   Democratic  party  was  thus  committed  to 
the  declaration  that  the  war  was  a  failure.     This  drove 
the  doubtful  votes  into  support  of  the  Republican  can- 
didates, and  assured  their  success.     In  the  Presiden- 
tial Election  in  November  Republican  electors  were 
chosen  by  all  the  States  not  in  rebellion,  except  New 
Jersey,    Delaware,   and     Kentucky.      The     members 
chosen   to  the   XXXIXth  Congress  were  also  over 
whelmingly  Republican. 

14.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1864.     In  Fcb- 
XXXVI7Tth  Congress,     ruary,   1865,   the   Ilouar 

2d  bession.  finally  passed  the  Xlllth 

1  Johnson's   nomination   was   exactly   parallel   with  that   of  Tyler  by  th« 
Whigs.     Both  were  Strict  Constructionists  by  nature,  temporarily  adrift  with- 
out a  party,  and  offered   by  the   loose  constructionist  party  a  pUce   rather  o: 
honor  than  importance,  to  secure  Opposition  vot~s. 

2  Called  by  the  Union  party  '  Copperheads,"  from  a  «  ell-known  Northm 
make. 


1865.]          The  Abolition  cf  Slavery  195 

Amendment  which  had  failed  at  the  last  Session  to 
receive  a  two-thirds  majority.1  It  was  modeled  on  the 
language  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,2  which  thus,  after 
a  struggle  of  nearly  eighty  years,  became  the  law  of 
the  land.  A  Joint  Resolution  was  passed  by  both 
Houses,  declaring  that  the  rebellious  States  were  in 
•uch  condition  that  no  valid  election  had  been  held  in 
them  for  electors,  and  that  no  electoral  votes  from  them 
should  be  counted.  The  electoral  votes  were  counted, 
and  were  found  to  be  for  Lincoln  and  Johnson  212, 
and  for  McClellan  and  Pendleton  21.  Lincoln  and 
Johnson  were  therefore  declared  elected.  At  this 
Session  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill  was  passed. 
It  organized  a  bureau  for  the  protection  of  freedmen 
and  refugees  from  the  South.  March  3d,  1865,  Con- 
gress adjourned,  and  March  4th  Lincoln  and  Johnson 
were  sworn  into  office.  V 

1  This  was  ratified  by  three-fourths  of  the  States,  and  was  proclaimed  to  b« 
in  force,  December  i8th,  1865. 

*  See  page  193.  This  provision  of  the  ordinance  of  1787  h«dbeen  imitated 
b  1820  (Missouri)  and  in  1846  (Wilmot  Proviso). 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

TWENTIETH   ADMINISTRATION,   1865-1869. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  President.         Andrew  Johnson,  Vice-P)  esident 
XXXIXth  and  XLth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in    1864:   Rep,  2,216,067 
Dem.  1,808,725. 

1.  THE  gentleness,  kindliness,  and  greatness  of  mind 
of  President  Lincoln  were  just  beginning  to  win 
general   appreciation   when   he   fell  by   assassination, 
April  1 4th,  1865.     The  rebel  army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia had  previously  surrendered,  and  the  other  rebel 
armies  rapidly  followed  its  example.     On  the  death  of 
President  Lincoln,  Andrew  Johnson  succeeded  to 
his  office,  and  to  his  difficult  task,  the  reconstruction  of 
the  rebellious  States. 

2.  The  Constitution  had  made  no  provision  foi 
the  reception  of  a  State  which  had  formally  claimed  the 
right  to  secede,  and  renounced  its  membership  in  the 
Union.     To  admit  them  at  once  to  their  former  posi- 
tion would  have  been  to  give  the  negro  race  to  the 
-.ontrol  of  their  former  masters.     The  claims  of  thf 

196 


1865.1  Reconstruction.  197 

negroes  to  security  in  tl.eir  lately  granted  freedom 
seemed  to  the  mass  of  the  Northern  people  superior  to 
all  theoretical  arguments  on  the  relations  of  the  States 
to  the  Federal  Government.  They  believed  that  the 
rebellious  States  should  be  kept  in  a  position  approach- 
ing that  of  Territories,  until  Congress  should  be  satis- 
fied of  the  safety  of  the  negroes  and  re-admit  them  to 
the  Union. 

3.  To  President  Johnson,  a  Strict  Constructionist  by 
nature,  the  idea  that  a  State  could  be  punished  foi 
treason  by  a  Federal  Congress  was  incomprehensible. 
His  Policy  of  Reconstruction  was  to  punish  in- 
dividuals, if  necessary,  for  treason,  but  to  re-install  the 
States  at  once  in  all  the  powers  held  by  them  before 
rebellion,  and  this  policy  he  endeavored  to  carry  out  by 
successive  Proclamations.     He  declared  all  the  South- 
ern ports  open  to  commerce,  except  four  in   Texas. 
He  proclaimed  amnesty  and  pardon  to  all  persons  en- 
gaged in  the  rebellion,  except  fourteen  classes  of  lead- 
ers, who  were  to  make  special  applications  for  pardon. 
He  restored  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  in  the  Northern 
States,  and   appointed  Provisional   Governors  for  the 
rebellious  States,  with  the  purpose  of  organizing  per- 
manent governments  as  soon  as  possible. 

4.  The  Republican  State  Conventions  of  1865 
generally  approved  the  President's  policy,  so  far  as  it 
had  been  developed,  but  stipulated  that  the  Southern 
States  should  be  held  under  provisional  governments 
until  they  should  recognize  and  accept  the  results  of 
the  war,  including  the  freedom  and  protection  of  th« 


198  American  Politics.  [1865 

negroes.  Unfortunately,  the  license  of  camp  life  had 
left  many  of  the  Southern  whites  with  but  slight  dispo 
sition  to  live  on  terms  of  political  equality  with  the 
former  slaves.  Cases  of  outrage  became  common,  so 
that  the  new  Congress,  which  was  overwhelmingly  Re 
publican,  came  together  with  a  fixed  determination  tc 
protect  the  negroes  at  any  cost.  The  party  leaders 
seem  to  have  been  suspicious  of  President  Johnson's 
willingness  to  disregard  "  State  Rights "  in  assisting 
them. 

5.  Congress  met  December  4th,  1865,  with  a  Re- 
XXXIXth  Congress,     publican    majority  in   both 

ist  Session.  branches,1  sufficient,  if  nec- 

essary, to  carry  any  bill  over  the  President's  veto.  In 
the  House  Speaker  Colfax  was  re-elected.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1866,  the  First  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill  was 
passed  by  both  Houses.  It  aimed  at  the  protection 
and  assistance  of  the  freedmen  at  the  South.  It  was 
vetoed  by  the  President  on  the  grounds  that  it  provided 
for  unlimited  distribution  of  lands  to  freedmen,  that  it 
tended  to  keep  the  minds  of  the  negroes  restless  and 
uneasy,  and  that  it  had  been  passed  by  a  Congress 
which  was  without  representatives  from  the  Southern 
States.  An  effort  to  pass  the  bill  over  the  veto  did  not 
receive  the  full  party  vote,  and  consequently  did  not 
obtain  a  two-thirds  majority.  It  was  now  evident  that 
there  was  at  least  a  disagreement  between  the  Presi 
dent  and  the  party  which  had  elected  him. 

6.  An   open   rupture   followed   the   passage  of  the 

'  Senate,  40  Rep.,  u  Dem      House,  145  Rep.,  40  Dem. 


1 866.]  The  Civil  Rights  Bill.  195 

Civil  Rights  Bill  in  March.  It  was  designed  to 
make  freedmen  citizens  of  the  United  States,1  (with  the 
right  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  make  contracts,  etc.),  and 
to  punish  by  fine  and  imprisonment  any  person  inter 
fering  with  those  rights.  It  gave  Federal  courts  ex 
elusive  cognizance  of  offenses  against  the  Act,  an 
Federal  officers  the  power  of  arresting  and  holding  of- 
fenders to  bail.  The  bill  was  vetoed.  The  reasons 
given  were  that  it  gave  Federal  citizenship  to  4,000,000 
human  beings  just  released  from  bondage;  that  it  at- 
tempted to  give  the  law  where  the  States  had  their  own 
rights ;  that  it  overrode  the  State  courts,  and  created  a 
swarm  of  Federal  officials  charged  with  the  power  of 
arrest  for  the  discriminating  protection  of  the  black 
race.  The  bill  was  passed  over  the  veto  and  became 
law. 

7.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  the  principle  aimed 
at  in  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  by  making  it  a  part  of  the 
Constitution,  both  Houses  adopted  the  XlVth 
Amendment  in  June.2  The  President  informed  Con- 
gress of  his  disapproval  of  it.  A  Homestead  Bill 
was  passed,  applying  previous  Homestead  Bills  to  pub- 
lic lands  in  the  South.  It  was  agreed  by  both  Houses 
that  no  delegation  from  any  of  the  States  lately  in  re- 
bellion should  be  received  by  either  House  until  both 
Houses  should  unite  in  declaring  such  State  again  a 
member  of  the  Union. 

'  But  this  did  not  carry  the  right  to  vote.  For  that,  another  Amendment 
was  necessary. 

*  Ratified  by  vrr-^-fourths  of  the  States  and  declared  in  force  July  23t» 
tftt. 


2OO  American  Politics.  [1866 

8.  In  July  the   Second   Freedmen's    Bureau 
Bill  was  passed  by  both  Houses.     It  continued  the 
bureau  for  two  years,  provided  for  selling  lands  to  the 
freedmen  at  a  low  rate,  reserved  the  property  of  tnc 
&te  Confederate  Government  for  their  education,  and 
ordered  the  President  to  give  military  protection  to  the 
negroes  whenever  they  were  molested.     It  was  vetoed 
by  the  President.     The  reasons  given  were  that  it  gave 
the  President  too  much  power;  that  the  civil  courts 
were  perfectly  able  to  do  all  that  the  bureau  aimed  at 
in  the  way  of  protection ;  and  that  the  bureau  had  be- 
come a  political  machine,  by  which  the  negroes  were 
used  for  the  personal  advantage  of  its  officers.     The 
bill  was  passed  over  the  veto  and  became  law.     After 
reducing  the  army  and  the  revenue  tax,  and  reviving 
the  grade  of  General  of  the  Army,  Congress  adjourned 
July  28th,  1866. 

9.  The   Conflict  between  the   President  and   the 
Republican  majority  had  now  become  open  and  angry. 
The    Republican    National    Committee    expelled   its 
chairman  and  two  of  its  members,  who  had  sided  with 
the  President.     It  also  issued  an  Address  to  the 
Party,  denning  the  issues  between  Congress  and  the 
President.     It  called  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the 
fact  that  the  Constitution  made  no  provisions  for  tits 
treatment  of  insurgent  States  forcibly  reduced  to  obedi 
ence,1  and  claimed  that  the  Republican  plan  for  tiding 

1  But  this  "break  "  would  have  been  of  little  importance,  but  for  the  legacj 
'«sft  by  Slavery)  the  freedmen.  This  was  the  element  of  the  question  whicl 
taused  the  trouble,  and  not  th;  defect  in  the  Constitution. 


1 866.  ]        The  President  and  Congress.  2O1 

over  this  obstacle  was  wise  and  honest,  inasmuch  as  it 
would  "  give  loyalty  a  fair  start."  It  asserted  that,  un- 
der the  President's  plan,  the  whites  lately  in  rebellion 
would  seize  the  reins  of  power,  reduce  the  blacks  to 
real  slavery  under  some  plausible  name,  and  retair 
representation  for  them,  while  denying  their  political 
rights. 

10.  Congress  met  December  3d,  1866.     The  conflict 
XXXIXth  Congress,     between  the  Legislative  and 

ad  Session.  the  Executive  was  renewed 

at  once.  The  first  bill  of  the  Session,  giving  negroes 
the  right  to  vote  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  was  vetoed 
and  passed  over  the  veto.  Early  in  the  Session  a  Res- 
olution to  impeach  President  Johnson  was  adopted  by 
the  House,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  take  testi- 
mony. But  upon  their  report  the  House  decided  that 
the  grounds  of  impeachment  were  not  sufficient,  and 
thus  this  resolution  was  finally  lost. 

11.  The  main  feature  of  this  Session  was  a  persistent 
effort  to  Limit  the  President's  Power,  originating 
in  the  fear  that  he  designed  some  attack  upon  the 
privileges,  or  perhaps  the  existence  of  the  Legislative. 
In  January,  1867,  a  bill  was  passed  which  took  from 
the  President  the  power  given  by  the  Act  of  July,  1862, 
to  proclaim  general  amnesty.1     Provision  was  made  foi 
the  meeting  of  the  XLth  and  all  succeeding  Congresses 
immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the   preceding 

1  The  President  denied  the  right  of  Congress  to  do  so,  and  proceeded  t« 
issue  father  Proclamations  of  Amnesty,  claiming  the  right  under  the  Const* 

fctttCM. 


2O2  American  Politics. 

Congress.  Authority  was  given  to  the  clerk  of  the 
House,  before  its  meeting,  to  make  out  a  roll  of  regu- 
larly elected  members,  who  alone  should  take  part  in 
the  organization  of  the  House.2  The  Army  Appro- 
priation Bill  was  passed  with  a  "rider"  which  took 
from  the  President  the  command  of  the  army  by  pro- 
viding that  his  orders  to  it  should  only  be  given  through 
the  General  of  the  Army,  who  should  not  be  removed 
without  the  previous  approval  of  the  Senate.  It  also 
disbanded  all  the  militia  of  the  States  lately  in  rebellion. 
The  President  informed  Congress  that  he  signed  the 
bill  that  the  appropriation  might  not  be  lost,  but  that 
he  protested  against  the  "  rider,"  because  it  deprived 
him  of  the  command  of  the  army,  and  eleven  States  of 
their  militia,  both  of  which  were  guaranteed  by  the 
Constitution. 

12.  In  February  a  bill  for  the  admission  of  the  State 
of  Nebraska  was  passed  over  the  veto.     It  provided 
that  the  new  State  should  never  deny  the  right  of  vot- 
ing to  any  person  because  of  his  race  or  color.     Bills 
were  also  passed  to  give  Federal  courts  the  power  to 
issue  writs  of  Habeas  Corpus  when  any  person  was  de- 
prived of  liberty. 

13.  March  ad,  1867,  the  Bill  to  Provide  Efficient 
Governments  for  the   Insurrectionary  States 
was  passed  over  the  veto.     It  embodied  all  the  claims 

1  This  was  done  by  tb  e  XLth  Congress,  but  abandoned  after  President 
Johnson's  term  of  office. 

*  To  prevent  llic  oigtiuzation  of  any  pseudo-Congress  by  Northern  Pemo 
crats  and  Southern  claimants  of  admission.  Fortunately,  this  arrangement 
"las  not  yc*  reused  any  dispute  as  to  the  organization  of  the  House. 


r867-]  The  Reconstruction  Bill.  203 

of  Congress  to  control  the  re-admission  of  the  Southern 
States.  It  divided  them  into  military  districts,  eaa. 
under  the  government  of  a  Brigadier-General,  who 
should  protect  the  rights  of  all  persons.  Each  State 
was  to  remain  under  this  military  government  until  a 
State  Convention,  chosen  without  regard  to  race  or 
color,  should  form  a  State  government  and  ratify  the 
XlVth  Amendment.  When  this  should  be  done  Con- 
gress engaged  to  re-admit  the  State  to  the  Union. 

14.  The  same  day  the  so-called  Tenure  of  Office 
Bill  was  passed  over  the  veto.  It  reversed  all  previ- 
ous legislation  upon  the  doubtful  point  of  the  Presi- 
dent's power  to  remove  officials  without  the  consent  of 
the  Senate.  Hitherto,  from  the  time  of  the  1st  Con- 
gress, it  had  been  held  that  the  consent  of  the  Senate 
was  necessary  in  making  an  appointment,  but  that  the 
power  of  removal  was  wholly  in  the  President.  Under 
this  interpretation  it  was  feared  that  there  would  be  a 
wholesale  removal  of  public  officials  after  Congress 
should  adjourn.  This  bill  provided  that  civil  officers 
should  hold  office  until  their  successors  should  qualify ; 
that  the  Cabinet  should  hold  over  the  President's  term 
of  office,  and  should  only  be  removable  with  the  Sen- 
ate's approval ;  that,  while  Congress  was  not  in  session, 
the  President  might  suspend  (not  remove)  any  official , 
but  that  if  the  Senate  at  its  next  session  did  not  concur 
in  the  suspension  the  suspended  official  should  resume 
his  office ;  and  that  the  President  might  fill  any  vacancy 
by  death  or  resignation  while  Congress  was  not  in  ses- 
sion. Every  removal,  appointment,  or  acceptance  ol 


204  American  Politics. 

exercise  of  office  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this 
was  declared  to  be  "  a  high  misdemeanor," x  and  pun- 
ishable by  fine  and  imprisonment,  or  both.  Congress 
adjourned  March  3d,  1867.  Nebraska  had  become 
a  State  of  the  Union  March  ist. 

15.  Three  Extra  Sessions  of  Congress  were 
XLth   Congress,     held   this  year.     The  first  met 
Extra  Sessions.     March  4th,  and  adjourned  March 

3oth,  1867.  The  second  met  July  3d,  and  adjourned 
July  2oth.  The  third  met  November  2ist,  and  ad- 
journed at  the  opening  of  the  first  Regular  Session. 
The  Republican  majority  in  both  branches  was  con- 
tinued, and,  though  slightly  reduced,  was  sufficient  to 
overrule  the  veto,  if  necessary.2  In  the  House  Speaker 
Colfax  was  re-elected.  These  almost  continuous  Ses- 
sions were  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  check 
upon  the  Southern  policy  of  the  President.  The  work 
of  reconstruction  by  Congress  had  been  fully  laid  out 
by  the  last  Session.  It  was  only  necessary  for  this  Ses- 
sion to  secure  its  accomplishment. 

1 6.  Congress  met  December  2d,  1867.     The  princi- 
XLth  Congress,     pal  topic  of  interest  at  this  Session 

ist  Session.  was  the  train  of  events  which  led 
o  the  impeachment  of  the  President.  August  5th, 
1867.  he  had  notified  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary 
of  War,  whom  he  particularly  disliked,  that  "  public 
considerations  of  a  high  character  "  compelled  him  to 
ask  the  Secretary  to  resign.  Stanton  ironically  replied 

1  Apparently  with  a  view  to  future  impeachment. 

•  Senate,  Rep  40   Dem.  14.     He  use,  138  Rep,  47  Dem. 


1 868.]      Impeachment  of  the  President.  2OJ 

that "  public  considerations  of  a  high  character  "  forbade 
him  to  resign.  He  was  therefore  suspended,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  Tenure  of  Office  Bill,  until  Congress 
should  meet,  and  the  General  of  the  Army,  U.  S. 
Grant,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim. 
Stanton  protested  that  he  denied  the  President's  right 
to  remove  him,  but  would  yield  to  superior  force. 

17.  January  i4th,  1868,  the  Senate  refused  to  agree 
to  Stanton's  removal.     General  Grant  at  once  aban- 
doned the  office,  and  Stanton  again  took  possession. 
The  President  now  determined  to  disobey  the  Tenure 
of  Office  Bill,  and  force  an  issue  with  Congress.     Feb- 
ruary 2ist  he  again  removed  Stanton,  and  appointed 
General   Lorenzo  Thomas  in   his  place.     The  same 
day  the   Senate  voted  that  the  removal  was  illegal. 
General  Thomas,  however,  accepted  the  appointment, 
and  gave  Stanton  notice  to  quit.     Stanton  held  to  his 
office,  and  sent  the  notice  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House. 
Thereupon  the  House,  February  24th,  resolved  that  the 
President  be  Impeached  before  the  Senate  for  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

18.  March  5th  The  Trial  of  the  Impeachment 
was  begun  before  the  Senate  sitting  as  a  Court  of  Im- 
peachment, with  Chief  Justice  Chase,  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  in   the   chair.     The   Articles  of  Impeachment 
were  mainly  for  violation  of  the  Tenure  of  Office  Bill. 
During  the  early  part  of  the  trial  the  President  made  a 
tour  of  the  North  and  West,  and  in  many  passionate 
speeches  to  the  crowds  which  met  him  denounced  the 
XLth  Congress  as  "  DO  Congress,"  referring  to  its  re- 


206  Amcricin  Politics.  [1868 

fusal  to  admit  the  delegations  from  Southern  States. 
The  House  made  these  and  other  imprudent  utterance! 
the  basis  of  additional  Articles  of  Impeachment. 

19.  The  trial  lasted  until  May  i6th,  when  three  of 
he  main  Articles  were  voted  on.     The  vote  stood  35 

for  conviction  and  19  for  acquittal,  5  Republican  Sena- 
tors voting  with  14  Democrats  for  acquittal.  It  was 
thus  apparent  that  there  was  not  a  two-thirds  majority 
for  conviction.  The  Senate,  therefore,  not  waiting  to 
vote  on  the  remaining  Articles,  adjourned  sine  die,  and 
the  trial  was  abandoned.  Chief  Justice  Chase  directed 
a  verdict  of  acquittal  to  be  entered,  and  Stanton  re- 
signed his  office.  Congress  adjourned  July  2yth,  1868. 

20.  The  Presidential  contest  between  the  two  parties 
naturally  turned  upon  the  right  of  Congress  to  fill  the 
gap  in  the  Constitution,  and  lay  down  rules  for  the  re- 
admission  of  the  revolting  States.     Its  right  to  do  so 
was  inferred  by  the  loose  constructionist  party,  and  de- 
nied by  the  strict  constructionist  party.     The  Repub- 
lican National   Convention  met  at  Chicago,  May 
2oth,  1868,  and  adopted  a  platform  holding  that  the 
Southern  States  had  abandoned  and  lost  their  positions 
in  the  Union  by  seceding,  and  could  only  be  re-ad- 
wutted  on  terms  satisfactory  to  Congress.     It  approved 

he  terms  offered,  and  declared  that  it  was  the  business 
of  Congress  to  protect  equal  suffrage  in  the  South.  It 
nominated  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  of  Illinois,  and  Schuyler 
Colfax,  of  Indiana.  The  Democratic  National 
Convention  met  at  New  York  City,  July  4th,  and 
•adopted  a  platform  demanding  that  the  Southern  States 


r868.  Presidential  Election.  207 

should  immediately  and  unconditionally  be  given  the 
representation  in  Congiess  and  the  power  of  self-gov- 
ernment guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  and  that  the 
regulation  of  suffrage  should  be  left  to  the  States.  It 
nominated  Horatio  Seymour,  of  New  York,  and  Francis 
P.  Blair,  of  Missouri. 

21.  At  the  Presidential  Election  in  Novernbei 
Democratic  electors  were  chosen  by   New  York,1  Ne\f 
Jersey,  Oregon,  and  by  five  Southern  States.     All  the 
other  States  which  were  allowed  to  vote2  chose  Repub- 
lican electors.     As  the  issue  between  the  parties  was 
distinctly  made,  the  result  of  the  election  would  seem 
to  settle  the  rule  that  any  State  which  formally  casts 
off  allegiance  to  the  Federal  Government,  and  is  com- 
pelled to  submit,  must  be  re-admitted  by  Congress  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  a  Territory  applying  for  ad- 
mission as  a  State. 

22.  Congress  met  December  yth,  1868.     There  was 
XLth  Congress,     little  party  contest  at  this  Session. 

2d  Session.  In  February,  1869,  the  electoral 
votes  were  counted,  and  were  found  to  be,  for  Grant 
and  Colfax  214,  and  for  Seymour  and  Blair  80,  if  the 
vote  of  Georgia  were  allowed,  and  71  without  it.  As 
the  vote  of  Georgia  did  not  affect  the  result  the  ques- 
ion  was  left  undecided.  Grant  and  Colfax  were 
herefore  declared  elected.  February  26th  the  XVth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  guaranteeing  the 

1  Alleged  to  have  been  carried  by  frauds  in  New  York   City. 
*  Virginia,  Georgia,  Mississippi,  and  Texas  had  not  yet  complied  witk  th* 
conditions  of  Congress  and  bien  re-admitted. 


208  American  Politics.  1869 

right  of  suffrage,  without  regard  to  race,  color,  or  pre- 
vious condition  of  servitude,  was  adopted  by  Congress.1 
March  3d,  1869,  Congress  adjourned,  and  March  4th 
Grant  and  Colfax  were  sworn  into  office. 

1  Ratified  bx  three-fourths  of  the  States,  and  declared  in  force  U&rck  jotfc 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

TWENTY-FIRST  ADMINISTRATION,   1869-1873. 

U.  S.  Grant,  President.  Schuyler  Colfax,  Vice-President. 

XLIst  and  XLIId  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1868  :  Rep.  3,015,071, 
Dem.  2,709,613. 

i.  CONGRESS  met  March  4th,  1869,  with  a  Republi- 
XLIst  Congress,  can  majority  in  both  branches.1 
Extra  Session.  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine,  a 
Republican,  was  chosen  Speaker  in  the  House.  The 
principal  business  of  the  Session  was  the  confirmation 
by  the  Senate  of  the  new  President's  nominations  to 
positions  in  the  Cabinet,8  and  debate  as  to  Missis- 
sippi, Texas,  and  Virginia,  which  had  not  yet  ratified 
the  XlVth  Amendment  or  been  reconstructed.  April 
loth  a  bill  was  passed  authorizing  the  people  of  these 


1  Senate,  58  Rep.,  10  Dem.,  8  vacancies  ;  House,  149  Rep.,  64  Dem.,  25 
vacancies.  Mississippi,  Texas,  Virginia,  and  Georgia  were  not  represented. 

a  Except  that  of  A.  T.  Stewart,  of  New  York,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
He  was  ineligible  by  statute,  being  engaged  in  commerce,  and  his  name  was 
withdrawn. 

14  209 


2io  American  Politics.  [1869. 

States  to  vote  upon  the  constitutions  already  prepared 
for  them  by  State  conventions,  and  to  elect  State  offi- 
cers and  members  of  Congress.  A  new  condition, 
however,  was  imposed  upon  their  ultimate  re-admis- 
sion ;  their  Legislatures  were  required  to  ratify  the 
XVth  as  well  as  the  XlVth  Amendment.  Congress 
adjourned  April  loth.  During  the  year  the  Supreme 
Court,  in  the  important  case  of  Texas  v.  White,1 
rendered  a  decision  sustaining  Reconstruction  by 
Congress.  The  Court  held  that  the  ordinances  of 
secession  had  been  absolutely  null ;  that  the  seced- 
ing States  had  never  been  "  out  of  the  Union  ;  "  that 
they  had,  however,  during  and  after  their  rebellion, 
no  State  governments  "  competent  to  represent  the 
State  in  its  relations  with  the  National  Government ; " 
and  that  Congress  had  the  power  to  re-establish  the 
broken  relations  of  a  rebellious  State  to  the  Union. 

2.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1869.  The  Presi- 
XLIst  Congress,  dent's  Message  announced  that 

ist  Session.  Virginia  had  fulfilled  the  condi- 
tions precedent  to  recognition.  Before  the  close  of 
the  Session,  Mississippi,  Texas,  and  Georgia  had  also 
fulfilled  the  conditions,  and  the  formal  work  of  Re- 
construction was  completed  by  the  re-admission  of 
the  last-named  State  in  July,  iSyo.3  The  ratifications 


*  7  Wall.,  700. 

a  Tennessee  was  re-admitted  July  24th,  1866,  and  Arkansas  June  22d, 
1868.  The  Act  of  June  25th,  1868,  provided  for  the  admission  of  North  Caro- 
lina, South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Florida,  as  soon  as 
they  should  have  fulfilled  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  Acts  of  March,  1867 
(see  p.  203) ;  and  these  States  (except  Georgia)  were  successively  admitted 


1870.]  Reconstruction.  21 1 

of  the  XVth  Amendment  by  these  States  made  it  a 
part  of  the  Constitution,1  and  a  bill  was  passed  to  en- 
force it  by  making  penal  any  interference,  by  force  or 
by  fraud,  with  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage  as 
extended  by  the  Amendment,  and  by  authorizing  the 
President  to  use  the  army  to  prevent  violations  of  the1 
Act.  An  Act  was  also  passed  to  amend  the  naturali- 
zation laws ;  it  made  it  penal  to  obtain,  use,  dispose 
of,  or  register  or  vote  upon  a  false  or  fraudulent  cer- 
tificate of  naturalization,  authorized  the  appointment 
of  Federal  supervisors  of  elections,  in  cities  of  over 
20,000  inhabitants,  with  the  power  of  summary  arrest 
for  any  offence  committed  in  their  view,  and  extended 
the  privilege  of  naturalization  to  alien  Africans.  Con- 
gress adjourned  July  i5th,  1870.  At  the  December 
Term  of  1869  the  Supreme  Court  had  decided  that 
the  action  of  Congress  in  1862,  in  giving  a  legal- 
tender  character  to  the  paper  currency,2  was  uncon- 
stitutional. In  March,  1870,  after  the  complexion  of 
the  Court  had  been  changed  by  the  appointment  of 
two  new  Justices,'  the  legal-tender  question  was  again 

without  further  legislation.  Virginia,  as  above  stated,  was  re-admitted  Jan- 
uary 25th,  1870,  Mississippi  February  23d,  1870,  and  Texas  March  soth,  1870. 
Georgia,  after  a  partial  re-admission,  had  declared  negroes  incapable  of  hold- 
ing, office  ;  the  State  was  therefore  admitted  by  special  Act,  July  isth,  1870, 
after  revoking  her  objectionable  action  and  also  ratifying  the  XVth  Amend- 
ment. 

1  See  p.  208. 

2  See  p.  191.     Chief  Justice  S.  P.  Chase,  who  delivered  the  opinion,  had 
been  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  1862,  but  had  not  originated  the  legal-ten- 
der feature  of  the  currency. 

3  One  was  a  new  appointment  under  a  law  creating  an  additional  Justice' 
ship  ;  the  other  was  appointed  in  place  of  a  Justice  who  had  resigned. 


212  American  Politics.  [1870. 

introduced  in  another  case,  and  the  previous  decision 
was  reversed  by  the  votes  of  the  two  new  Justices. 

3.  The  Reconstruction  Acts  of  March,  1867,  had 
prohibited  persons  disabled  from  holding  office  by  the 
XlVth  Amendment,  as  it  was  then  proposed,  from 
taking  part  in  the  State  conventions  held  under  the 
Act ;  and  this  disability  had  been  extended  and  per- 
petuated in  the  new  constitutions  of  some  of  the 
Southern  States,  particularly  South  Carolina,  Louisi- 
ana, and  Arkansas,  by  prohibiting  the  exercise  of  the 
suffrage  by  any  person  still  under  disability  to  hold 
office  by  the  XlVth  Amendment.  Shortly  before  the 
Presidential  election  of  1868  it  appears  that  a  secret, 
oath-bound  organization  was  formed  in  North  Caro- 
lina under  the  name  of  the  Ku  Klux  Klan,1  mainly 
composed  of  persons  under  disabilities,  and  having 
for  its  object  the  terrorizing  of  white  and  colored 
Republican  voters  by  murder,  maiming,  or  whipping. 
The  organization  spread  rapidly  into  other  Southern 
States,  but  naturally  found  *its  most  congenial  loca- 
tion in  the  three  States  above  named.  Throughout 
the  summer  of  1870  a  Senate  committee  took  evi- 
dence on  the  subject,  which  convinced  the  Republi- 
can majority  that  "the  issue  between  government 
and  anarchy "  in  the  South  was  fairly  presented. 
The  Democratic  minority,  while  it  deplored  the  "de- 
testable and  wicked  outrages"  which  it  had  found, 
believed  that  their  number  had  been  grossly  exagger- 
ated for  political  purposes. 

1  Otherwise  known  as  "The  Invisible  Empiie  "  or  "White  League." 


1 87 1.]  San  Domingo.  213 

4.  Congress  met  December  5th,  1870,  and  in  Jan- 
XLIst  Congress,     uary,    1871,   by  the  admission 
2d  Session.  of  the    Georgia  members,    all 

the  States  were  represented  in  Congress  for  the  first 
time  since  December,  i860.1  The  President's  mes- 
sage dealt  largely  with  a  project  for  annexing  to  the 
United  States  the  West  Indian  Republic  of  San 
Domingo,  or  Dominica.  A  treaty  for  that  purpose 
had  been  negotiated  between  the  Presidents  of  the 
two  Republics,  September  4th,  1869,  but  had  been  re- 
jected by  the  Senate  at  its  last  Session  ;  and  President 
Grant  now  suggested  an  annexation  by  joint  reso- 
lution, as  in  the  case  of  Texas,2  which  would  require 
only  a  majority  vote  in  the  Senate.  A  joint  reso- 
lution was  passed  authorizing  the  President  to  appoint 
three  commissioners  to  examine  the  condition  of  San 
Domingo  and  the  desires  of  its  people  for  or  against 
annexation.  An  Act  was  passed  to  enforce  the  XVth 
Amendment ;  it  extended  the  powers  of  Federal  su- 
pervisors, marshals,  and  deputy-marshals  over  elec- 
tions and  registrations,  gave  Federal  Circuit  Courts 
exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all  cases  arising  under  the 
Act,  and  empowered  them  to  punish  any  State  officer 
who  should  proceed  in  such  cases  in  contempt  of  their 
jurisdiction.  A  Senate  committee  was  appointed  to 
investigate  the  condition  of  the  Southern  States,  and 

1  Congress  was  now  divided  politically  as  follows  :  Senate,  61  Rep.,  13 
Dem.  ;  House,  172  Rep.,  71  Dem. 

3  To  this  it  was  objected  that  only  a  State  could  be  annexed  by  joint  reso- 
lution, and  that  a  Territory,  as  San  Domingo  was  intended  to  be,  could  be 
acquired  only  by  treaty,  if  at  all. 


214  American  Politics.  [1871. 

Congress  adjourned,  March  4th.  1871.  During  this 
year  the  long  standing  Alabama  Claims  of  the 
United  States  upon  Great  Britain,  arising  from  the 
depredations  of  Anglo-rebel  privateers,  were  referred 
to  arbitration  by  the  Treaty  of  Washington  of  May 
8th,  1871.' 

5.  Congress  met  March  4th,  1871, "with  a  Republi- 
XLIId  Congress,  can  majority  in  both  branches.3 

Extra  Session.  In  the  House,  James  G.  Blaine, 
of  Maine,  a  Republican,  was  chosen  Speaker.  The 
main  business  of  the  Session  was  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  of  seven  Senators  and  fourteen  Repre- 
sentatives to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  late 
insurrectionary  States,4  and  the  passage  of  a  very 
sweeping  Act  to  enforce  the  XlVth  Amendment.5 
This  Act  allowed  suit  in  Federal  courts  by  the  party 
injured  against  any  person  who  should  in  any  way 
deprive  another  of  the  rights  of  a  citizen  ;  it  made  it 
a  penal  offence  to  conspire  to  take  away  from  any 
person  the  rights  of  a  citizen  ;  it  provided  that  in- 
ability, neglect,  or  refusal  by  any  State  to  suppress 
such  conspiracy,  to  protect  the  rights  of  its  citizens, 

1  Ratified  by  the  Senate,  May  24th,  1871.     The  arbitrators,  appointed  by 
Brazil,  Italy,  Switzerland,  Great  Britain,  and  the  United  States,  awarded  the 
United  States  $15,500,000,  in  gross,  as  damages,  September  i4th,  1872. 

2  This  was  the  last  Congress  which  met  by  law  immediately  after  the  expi- 
ration of  the  preceding  Congress  (see  p.  201). 

3  Senate,  57  Rep.,  17  Dem.  ;  House,  138  Rep.,  103  Dem. 

4  Often  called  the  "  Ku  Klux  Committee." 

6  Often  called  the  "Force  Bill."  There  is  a  striking  similarity  between  the 
second  section  of  the  Act  and  the  first  section  of  the  Sedition  Law  of  1798. 
Both  were  passed  on  the  same  ground,  the  actual  existence  of  war — foreign 
in  1798  (see  p.  44),  and  domestic  in  1871. 


187 1.]  The  Force  Bill.  215 

or  to  call  upon  the  President  for  aid,  should  be 
"  deemed  a  denial  by  such  State  of  the  equal  protec- 
tion of  the  laws  "  under  the  XlVth  Amendment ;  it 
declared  such  conspiracies,  if  not  suppressed  by  the 
authorities,  "  a  rebellion  against  the  Government  of 
the  United  States;"  it  authorized  the  President, 
"  when  in  his  judgment  the  public  safety  shall  require 
it,"  to  suspend  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  cor- 
pus in  any  district,  and  suppress  the  insurrection  by 
means  of  the  army  and  navy ; '  and  it  excluded  from 
the  jury-box  any  person  "  who  shall,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  court,  be  in  complicity  with  any  such  combina- 
tion or  conspiracy."  The  authority  to  suspend  the 
privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  to  cease 
after  the  end  of  the  next  regular  Session  of  Congress. 
Congress  adjourned  April  zoth,  1871. 

6.  The  system  of  "  rotation  in  office  "  *  had,  since 
1829,  taken  from  the  people  at  large  the  ownership 
of  the  offices  filled  by  appointment  of  the  President, 
and  vested  it  practically  in  the  politicians,  in  and  out 
of  Congress,  who  controlled  the  President's  party. 
An  Act  of  March  3d,  1871,  authorized  the  President 
to  begin  a  reform  in  the  Civil  Service,  for  which 
thinking  men  of  all  parties  had  long  been  unanimous- 
ly anxious.  Under  its  provisions  the  President  ap- 
pointed a  board  of  Civil  Service  Commissioners  to 
provide  for  the  examination  of  applicants  for  minor 


1  In  October  and  November,  1871,  a  number  of  counties  in  South  Carolina 
were  brought  under  the  provisions  of  this  section  by  the  President's  proclami 
tion.  a  See  p.  105. 


216  American  Politics.  [1872. 

offices,  and  to  relieve  him  and  his  Cabinet  from  the 
necessity  of  deciding  upon  such  applications.  The 
system  was  begun  January  ist,  1872,  and,  though 
tinder  many  limitations  and  discouragements,  contin- 
ued in  operation  for  nearly  three  years  with  the  em- 
phatic commendation  of  the  Cabinet  and  the  Presi- 
dent;  but  in  December,  1874,  despite  two  direct 
appeals  from  President  Grant,  Congress  refused  to 
make  any  further  appropriation  for  the  system,  and 
it  was  abandoned.  It  has  not  yet  been  revived  to 
the  full  extent  of  its  original  design. 

7.  Congress  met  December  4th,  1871.  Much  of 
XLIId  Congress,  the  time  of  the  Session  was 
ist  Session.  consumed  in  efforts  to  pass  a 
bill  to  remove  the  political  disabilities  imposed  by 
the  XlVth  Amendment.  It  was  introduced  by  the 
Democrats  in  various  forms,  but  was  regularly 
amended  by  the  Republicans  by  the  addition  to  it 
of  Senator  Sumner's  Supplementary  Civil  Rights  Bill, 
intended  to  prevent  discrimination  against  negroes 
by  common  carriers  and  other  licensed  or  chartered 
public  servants.  The  combined  bills  (now  requiring 
a  two-thirds  vote)  were  then  as  regularly  voted  down 
by  the  Democrats.  It  was  not  until  May  22d,  1872, 
that  a  separate  Amnesty  Bill  became  law.1  A 
general  Election  Law  for  the  whole  country,  after 
being  lost  in  the  House,  was  placed  by  the  Senate  as 
a  -'rider"2  upon  the  Civil  Appropriation  Bill,  and  so 

1  About  350  persons,  who  had  held  the  higher  positions  under  the  Confed- 
eracy, were  excepted  from  its  provisions.  a  See  p.  149. 


1 8/2.]  Liberal  Republicans.  217 

passed,  but  with  a  proviso  that  the  Federal  supervis- 
ors of  elections  appointed  under  it  should  have  no 
power  of  arrest.  A  bill  to  extend  the  habeas  corpus 
section  of  the  Force  Bill  of  the  last  Session  until  the 
end  of  the  next  Session  was  passed  by  the  Senate, 
but  lost  in  the  House.  Congress  adjourned  June 
loth,  1872. 

8.  In  1870  the  Republican  part)'  in  Missouri  had 
split  into  two  parts.  The  "Radical"  wing  wished  to 
maintain  for  the  present  the  disqualifications  imposed 
on  the  late  rebels  by  the  State  Constitution  during 
the  war  ;  the  "  liberal "  wing,  headed  by  B.  Gratz 
Brown  and  Carl  Schurz,  wished  to  abolish  these  dis- 
qualifications and  substitute  "  universal  amnesty  and 
universal  enfranchisement."  Supported  by  the  Dem- 
ocrats, the  Liberal  Republicans  carried  the  State, 
though  opposed  by  the  Federal  office-holders  and  the 
influence  of  the  Administration.  This  success  stimu- 
lated a  reaction  in  the  National  Republican  party, 
many  of  whose  members  believed  that  the  powers  of 
the  Federal  Government  over  the  local  concerns  of 
the  States  had  already  been  enforced  up  to  or  beyond 
constitutional  limits,  that  the  various  enforcement 
Acts  were  designed  rather  for  the  political  advance- 
ment of  President  Grant's  personal  adherents  than 
for  the  benefit  of  the  country,  the  freedmen,  or  even 
of  the  Republican  party  ;  and  that  the  efforts  to  police 
the  Southern  States  by  the  force  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment ought  to  cease.  In  the  spring  of  1871  the 
Liberal  Republicans  and  Democrats  of  Ohio  began 


218  American  Politics.  [1872. 

to  show  symptoms  of  common  feeling  on  these  sub- 
jects, and  during  the  summer  the  "Liberal"  move- 
ment continued  to  develop  within  the  Republican 
party.  January  241)1,  1872,  the  Missouri  Liberals 
issued  a  call  for  a  National  Convention  at  Cincinnati 
in  the  following  May. 

9.  The  Liberal  Republican  National  Con- 
vention met  at  Cincinnati  May  ist,  1872,  and 
adopted  a  platform  pledging  the  party  to  maintain 
the  Union  of  the  States,  emancipation,  enfranchise- 
ment, the  last  three  Amendments,  universal  amnesty, 
the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  the  duty  of  a  thorough 
civil  service  reform.  In  respect  to  the  relative  merits 
of  protection  and  free  trade,  the  Convention  confessed 
itself  irreconcilably  divided,  and  remitted  the  decision 
of  the  question  to  the  people  in  their  Congressional 
elections.  So  far,  although  the  Convention  was  itself 
a  revolt  from  the  ordinary  party  methods,  and  al- 
though many  of  its  members  were  inexperienced,  un- 
manageable, and  not  representative  of  any  important 
body  of  voters,  its  action  had  been  very  skilfully 
suited  to  its  acceptance  by  the  subsequent  Demo- 
cratic Convention.  After  six  ballots,  however,  in 
most  of  which  C.  F.  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  led, 
the  friends  of  other  candidates  threw  their  votes  for 
Horace  Greeley,1  of  New  York,  and  he  was  nominated 
by  482  votes  to  187  for  Adams.  B.  Gratz  Brown,  of 

1  He  had  been,  during  his  whole  political  life,  an  ardent  protectionist,  and 
an  unsparing  critic  of  his  Democratic  opponents,  through  the  columns  of  the 
newspapers  of  which  he  was  editor. 


1872.]  Presidential  Election.  219 

Missouri,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President.  Some 
of  the  "  Liberal"  leaders  endeavored  afterward,  with- 
out success,  to  substitute  other  candidates  for  those 
nominated.  The  Republican  National  Conven- 
tion met  at  Philadelphia,  June  5th,  renominated 
President  Grant  unanimously,  and  nominated  Henry 
Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  for  the  Vice-Presidency  by 
364^- votes  to  321^- for  Schuyler  Colfax.  The  plat- 
form detailed  the  party's  past  achievements,  ap- 
proved civil  service  reform  and  the  suppression  of 
disorders  in  the  South,  and  demanded  complete 
equality  for  all  men  throughout  the  entire  country. 
The  Democratic  National  Convention  met  at 
Baltimore,  June  gth,  and  by  a  nearly  unanimous  vote 
adopted  the  Cincinnati  platform  and  candidates.  A 
few  recalcitrant  Democrats  '  met  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
September  3d,  and  nominated  Charles  O'Conor,  of 
New  York,  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachu- 
setts.2 The  result  of  the  election  was  the  success  of 
the  Republican  candidates  by  an  increased  popular 
and  electoral  majority,  due  mainly  to  the  refusal  of 
very  many  Democrats  to  vote  for  Greele.y. 

10.   Congress  met   December   2d,    1872.'     In  the 
XLIId  Congress,     House,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
2d  Session.  Session,  the  Speaker  called  at- 

tention to  the  charges  made  by  the  Democrats,  dur- 


1  Usually  called  "straight-outs." 

7  The  candidates  declined  the  nomination,  but  about  30,000  scattering  votts 
irere  cast  for  them. 
3  Senate,  51  Rep.,  23  Dem.  and  Lib.;  House,  133  Rep.,  no  Dem.  and  Lib. 


220  American  Politics.  \_^7^ 

ing  the  campaign,  that  the  Vice-President,  the  Vice- 
President  elect,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  several 
Senators,  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  Representatives  had  been  bribed,  during  the 
years  1867  and  1868,  by  presents  of  stock  in  a  cor- 
poration known  as  the  Credit  Mobilier,1  to  vote 
and  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
Company.  On  his  motion,  an  investigating  commit- 
tee was  appointed,  L.  P.  Poland,  of  Vermont,  being 
chairman.  The  Poland  Committee  reported  Feb- 
ruary i8th,  1873,  recommending  the  expulsion  of 
Oakes  Ames,  of  Massachusetts,  for  "  selling  to  mem- 
bers of  Congress  shares  of  the  stock  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  below  their  real  value,  with  intent  thereby 
to  influence  the  votes  of  such  members,"  and  of 
James  Brooks,  of  New  York,  for  receiving  such  stock. 
The  House  modified  the  proposed  expulsion  into  an 
"absolute  condemnation"  of  the  conduct  of  both 
members.4  An  Act  was  passed  to  abolish  the  frank- 
ing privilege,  and  another  to  increase  the  salaries  of 
officers  of  the  Government.  The  President's  salary 
was  increased  from  $25,000  to  $50,000,  and  that  of 
Senators  and  Representatives  from  $5,000  to  $7,500 
per  annum.  This  last  feature  of  the  Act  proved  very 
unpopular,  as  it  was  made  to  apply  to  the  salaries  of 
the  Congressmen  who  passed  the  bill.3  and  it  was 
commonly  known  as  the  Salary  Grab.  In  Febru- 

*  Organized  to  contract  for  building  the  Union  Pacific  R.  R. 

2  Both  members  died  within  three  months  afterward. 

3  In  so  doing,  however,  it  followed  precedent. 


1 87 3 .  ]  Returning  Boards.  221 

ary,  1873,  the  Electoral  votes  were  counted  and  were 
found  to  be,  for  President,  Grant,  286,  T.  A.  Hen- 
dricks,  of  Indiana,  42,  and  21  scattering,1  and,  for 
Vice-President,  Wilson  286,  Brown  47,  and  19  scat- 
tering. The  votes  of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas  were 
rejected  by  concurrence  of  both  Houses.8 

ii.  At'this  Session  appeared  the  first  case  of  con- 
flict of  State  governments  in  the  South.  The  recon- 
structed State  constitutions,  in  order  to  guard  against 
intimidation  by  disfranchised  citizens,  had  generally 
provided  for  Returning  Boards,  usually  composed 
of  three  State  officers  and  two  citizens  specified  by 
name  in  the  constitution.  The  Returning  Board  was 
empowered  to  canvass  the  votes,  to  reject  the  votes 
of  all  counties  (or  parishes)  where  they  should  judge 
force  or  fraud  had  been  used,  and  to  declare  the 
results  of  all  elections.  In  Louisiana  successive 
removals  and  appointments  of  State  officers  by  the 
Governor,  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the  Return- 
ing Board,  had  resulted  in  the  formation  of  two 
bodies,  each  claiming  to  be  the  legitimate  Returning 
Board.  Two  State  Legislatures  and  governments,  one 
(Democratic)  headed  by  Governor  John  McEnery, 
the  other  (Republican)  headed  by  Governor  W.  P. 
Kellogg,  were  thus  declared  elected.  Kellogg,  who 
apparently  controlled  the  Federal  District  Judge, 


1  Greeley  died  November  zgth,  1872,  and  the  Democratic  and  Liberal  elec- 
tors were  compelled,  on  their  day  of  voting,  December  4th,  to  vote  for  other 
persons.  Three  electors  in  Georgia  voted  for  Horace  (ireeley,  but  their  votes 
were  not  counted,  the  Houses  non-concurring.  *  See  p.  227. 


222  American  Politics.  \_l%73- 

Durell,  brought  suit  before  him  against  his  political 
opponents,  and  obtained  an  order,  illegitimately 
given,  that  the  Federal  marshal  should  seize  the 
building  used  as  a  State  House  and  prevent  the 
meeting  of  the  McEnery  Legislature.  Both  govern- 
ments, however,  were  inaugurated,  and  each  claimed 
recognition  by  Congress.  The  Senate  committee 
reported  that  Durell's  conduct  was  most  reprehensi- 
ble, that  Louisiana  had  no  real  government,  that  the 
McEnery  government  was  most  nearly  a  government 
of  right,  and  that  the  Kellogg  government  was  most 
nearly  a  government  in  fact.  A  bill  declaring  the 
election  of  November  4th,  1872,  null  and  void,  and 
providing  for  a  new  election  under  the  direction  of 
Judge  Woods,  the  Federal  Circuit  Judge,  was  intro- 
duced in  the  Senate,  but  was  lost  by  a  close  vote. 
Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1873,  an(^  March  4th 
Grant  and  Wilson  were  sworn  into  office. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

TWENTY-SECOND    ADMINISTRATION,   1873-1877. 

U.  S.  Grant,  President.  Henry  Wilson,  Vice-President. 

XLIIId  and  XLIVth  Congresses, 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1872  :  Rep.  3,597,070, 
Dem.  2,834,079. 

i.  PRESIDENT  GRANT'S  Inaugural  stated  that,  while 
still  believing  in  the  advisability  of  the  annexation  of 
San  Domingo,  he  had  dropped  the  project  since  its 
rejection  by  the  Senate.  During  this  year  the  propo- 
sition was  renewed  in  the  form  of  an  application  by 
San  Domingo  for  the  establishment  of  a  protectorate 
over  it  by  the  United  States  ;  but  shortly  afterward 
President  Baez,  who  had  been  the  chief  Dominican 
advocate  of  annexation,  was  driven  from  San  Domin- 
go by  a  revolution,  and  this  unpopular  scheme  came 
to  an  end.  In  April,  1873,  tne  Supreme  Court,  in 
the  Slaughter-House  Cases,1  began  the  authori- 

1  16  Wall.,  36.  They  were  so  called  because  they  arose  from  the  incorpora- 
tion by  Louisiana  of  a  Slaughter-House  Company,  with  an  entire  monopoly  of 
the  business  in  New  Orleans  and  its  vicinity. 

223 


•224  American  Politics. 

tative  construction  of  the  XlVth  and  XVth  Amend- 
ments. The  opinion  of  the  court  held  that  these 
Amendments  only  placed  the  special  privileges  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States  under  the  protection  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  and  Government ;  that  the 
powers  of  the  States  over  the  privileges  of  their  own 
citizens  had  not  been  changed  ;  and  that  the  great 
objects  of  the  Amendments  were  the  freedom  and 
protection  of  the  former  slave  race. 

2.  Congress  met  December  ist,  1873,  the  Republi- 
XLIIId  Congress,     can  majority  being  continued 
ist  Session.  in   both   branches.1      In   the 

House,  Speaker  Elaine  was  re-elected.  The  increase 
of  pay  to  members  of  Congress  at  the  preceding  Con- 
gress was  repealed.  A  bill  which  purported  to  "fix 
the  amount  of  United  States  notes,"  but  which  in- 
creased their  total  amount,  was  passed  by  both 
Houses,  but  was  vetoed  by  the  President  and  failed 
to  become  law.  The  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a 
republican  form  of  government  in  Louisiana2  was 
again  introduced  in  the  Senate,  but  came  to  no  final 
action.  Congress  adjourned  June  23d,  1874.  In 
1867  a  secret  order,  known  as  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry, had  been  formed  in  Washington,  and  its 
subordinate  lodges,  or  Granges,3  had  since  spread 
all  over  the  country.  Its  object  was  co-operation 
among  farmers  in  purchasing  and  in  other  business 
interests.  In  its  nature  it  was  not  political,  but  the 


1  Senate,  50  Rep.,  24  Dem.  and  Lib.;   House,  198  Rep.,  93  Dem   and  Lib. 
3  See  p.  223.  3  Hence,  its  members  were  often  called  Grangers. 


1 874.]  Louisiana.  22$ 

high  freight  rates  of  Western  railroads  brought  them 
into  conflicts  with  its  members,  which  colored  the 
politics  of  Western  States  during  the  years  1873  and 
1874,  and  led  to  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
induce  Congress  to  pass  transportation  laws  for  the 
regulation  of  inter-State  commerce  and  freight  rates. 
3.  During  this  and  the  subsequent  four  years,  per- 
jury became  so  fundamental  a  feature  in  the  politics 
of  Louisiana  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  give 
any  exact  account  of  the  continuing  difficulties  in 
that  State.1  It  seems  certain,  on  the  one  hand,  that 
the  Democrats,  or  McEnery  party,  had  resolved 
themselves  into  a  "white  man's  party."  and  that 
outrages  and  massacres  of  negroes,  such  as  those  of 
Colfax  and  Coushatta,  had  become  a  recognized 
factor  in  politics  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
Kellogg,  or  Republican,  government  was  sustained 
only  by  the  decisions  of  a  Federal  judge  of  very 
doubtful  character,  by  the  consequent  support  of 
Federal  troops,  by  the  scandalous  execution  of  the 
registration  laws,  and  by  the  reckless  counting  of  a 
partisan  Returning  Board.  In  brief,  the  contest  lay 
between  force  and  fraud  for  the  control  of  the  State. 
September  i4th,  1874,  the  McEnery  party  suddenly 
rose  in  arms,  seized  the  State  offices,  and  forced  the 
Kellogg  government  to  take  refuge  in  the  Custom 
House.  On  the  same  day  Kellogg  called  upon  the 

1  The  fairest  account  available  has  been  followed,  the  report  of  the  sub- 
committee of  the  House  of  Representatives,  consisting  of  two  Republican! 
and  one  Democrat,  January  I4th,  1875. 


226  American  Politics.  [1874, 

President  for  Federal  troops,  which  were  furnished  to 
him.1  The  McEnery  government  refused  to  resist 
Federal  authority,  and  the  Kellogg  government  was 
reinstalled  at  once.  In  January,  1875,  the  Legisla- 
ture was  organized.  The  McEnery  party,  in  a  hasty 
and  disorderly  fashion,  seated  their  Representatives 
from  contested  districts,  gained  control  of  the  House, 
and  elected  the  Speaker,  whereupon  Kellogg  sent 
United  States  soldiers,  under  General  de  Trobriand, 
who  turned  out  the  members  just  seated.  The  Kel- 
logg party,  then  having  a  majority,  elected  their 
Speaker,  the  McEnery  party  withdrew,  and  again 
two  Legislatures  were  organized.5 

4.  Congress  met  December  7th,  1874.     The  Pres- 
XLIIId  Congress,     ident's  Message  dealt  largely 
2d  Session.  with    the  case  of  Louisiana, 

and  his  Special  Message  of  January  i3th,  1875,  went 
still  more  fully  into  the  case,  defended  his  action  in 
it,  and  appealed  to  Congress  to  take  some  action 
which  would  relieve  him  from  the  "  exceedingly  un- 
palatable "  duty  of  supporting  Southern  State  govern- 
ments by  the  use  of  Federal  troops.  At  the  close  of 
the  Session,  therefore,  by  resolution,  the  House  en- 
dorsed the  Kellogg  government,  and  the  Senate 


1  This  was  justified  by  the  President  and  his  supporters  under  Art.  IV., 
§  4,  of  the  Constitution  (see  p.  792)  ;  his  opponents  generally  admitted  the 
justification  so  far.  but  denied  that  a  political  struggle  in  the  Legislature  was 
a  case  of  "  domestic  violence  "  to  be  settled  by  Federal  troops. 

^  The  difficulty  was  left,  as  far  as  regarded  the  Legislature,  to  W.  A. 
Wheeler  (afterward  Vice-President),  and,  after  his  "adjustment"  of  it,  th» 
party  conflict  smouldered  until  the  summer  of  1876,  when  it  was  renewed. 


1 875.]  The  Electoral  Cottnr.  227 

approved  the  President's  course  in  Louisiana.  An 
Act  for  the  Resumption  of  Specie  Payments 
was  passed  which  provided  that  on  and  after  January 
ist,  1879,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  should  re- 
deem United  States  legal-tender  notes  in  coin ;  but 
it  left  open  the  question  whether  these  legal-tender 
notes,  up  to  $300,000,000,  should  be  reissued  after 
redemption.  Senator  Sumner's  Supplementary  Civil 
Rights  Bill  became  law.1  A  large  part  of  the  Ses- 
sion was  taken  up  in  considering  the  mode  of  elec- 
tion of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  a  great  part 
of  whose  possible  dangers  and  difficulties,  as  they 
eventuated  in  1876-77,  were  already  plainly  foreseen 
and  discussed  in  the  debates,  but  Congress  did  noth- 
ing to  avoid  them.  Senator  Morton,  of  Indiana,2 
introduced  an  Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  pro- 
viding for  the  general  choice  of  electors  by  districts, 
and  a  resolution  to  abolish  the  Twenty- Second 
Joint  Rule,3  under  which  the  counting  of  electoral 
votes  had  been  conducted  since  1865,  but  neither 
was  adopted.  Congress  adjourned  March  4th,  1875. 
During  the  year  an  extensive  Whiskey  Ring  was 
unearthed  in  the  West ;  it  was  an  association,  or 
series  of  associations,  of  distillers  and  Federal  offi- 

1  See  p.  836.  Senator  Sumner,  the  original  framer  of  the  bill,  had  died, 
March  nth,  1874. 

y  His  speeches  in  these  debates  are  almost  a  history  of  the  workings  of  the 
electoral  system  up  to  date. 

3  This,  a  rule  adopted  by  both  Houses,  February  6th,  1865.  provided  in 
effect  that  any  electoral  vote,  to  which  objection  should  be  made  by  any  mem- 
ber, should  only  be  counted  if  both  Houses  agreed  to  count  it  :  a  non-concur 
rence,  therefore,  operated  as  a  rejection  of  the  vote  (see  p.  230). 


228  American  Politics. 

cials  for  the  purpose  of  defrauding  the  Government 
of  a  large  amount  of  the  tax  imposed  on  distilled 
spirits,  and,  further,  of  employing  a  part  of  the  pro- 
ceeds in  political  corruption.  On  the  trial  of  the 
indictments  a  number  of  Federal  officers  were  con- 
victed, and  O.  E.  Babcock,  the  President's  private 
secretary,  was  acquitted. 

5.  In  the  South  the  Democrats,  generally  taking 
the  name  of  Conservatives,  had  by  this  time  gained 
control  of  all  the  State  governments  except  those  of 
South  Carolina,  Florida,  and  Louisiana.  In  some 
of  the  States  the  Republican  governments  had,  as  in 
Louisiana,  called  upon  the  President  for  help  before 
surrendering  their  positions.  From  Arkansas  calls 
for  troops  had  been  made  by  Elisha  Baxter,  April 
igth,  1874,  and  by  Joseph  Brooks,  April  2oth,  each 
claiming  to  be  the  legitimate  Governor.  On  the 
supersedure  of  both  of  them  by  the  adoption  of  a  new 
State  Constitution,  October  ijth,  1874,  V.  V.  Smith, 
Baxter's  lieutenant-Governor,  claiming  to  be  Gover- 
nor by  Baxter's  abdication,  called  upon  the  President 
for  troops ;  but,  as  he  fled  the  State  immediately 
afterward,  no  answer  was  given.  In  Mississippi  the 
Legislature  called  upon  the  President  for  troops, 
December  i8th,  1874,  to  suppress  rioting  in  Warren 
County,  and  the  President  answered  by  a  proclama- 
tion warning  rioters  to  disperse.  The  call  for  troops 
was  repeated,  September  8th,  1875,  by  Governor  A. 
Ames,  but  was  refused.  The  Governor  was  advised 
to  assemble  the  Legislature  and  make  some  effort  to 


1 875.]  State  Elections.  229 

preserve  the  peace  of  his  own  Stale,  the  President's 
language  seeming  to  show  that  his  patience  had  been 
exhausted.1 

6.  The  State  elections  of  1874-75  and  the  elec- 
tions for  members  of  the  XLIVth  Congress,  to  meet 
in  December,  1875,  showed  a  sudden  and  remarkable 
change  of  political  sentiment.2     They  resulted  in  the 
almost  universal  defeat  of  Republican  candidates  for 
State  offices,  even  Massachusetts  electing  a   Demo- 
cratic Governor,  and  the  election  of  a  great  majority 
of  Democrats  to  the  House  of  Representatives.    The 
Republicans  considered  the  result  due  largely  to  the 
violent  suppression  of  the  colored  Republican  vote  in 
the  South  ;   the  Democrats  attributed  it  entirely  to 
popular  disgust  in  the  North  at  the  continuance  of 
enforcement    Acts    and   efforts    to    "dragoon"    the 
South.    Both  causes  seem  to  have  been  operative,  as- 
sisted by  the  financial  distress  which  began  to  be  felt 
in  1873,  and  which  is  always  apt  to  re-act  upon  the 
popular  vote,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  party  in  power. 

7.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1875,  with  a  Re- 
XLIVth  Congress,     publican  majority  in  the  Sen- 

ist  Session.  ate  and  a  Democratic  major- 

ity in  the  House,'  where  M.  C.  Kerr,  of  Indiana,  was 


1  "The  whole  public  are  tired  out  with  these  annual  autumnal  outbreaks  in 
the  South,  and  the  great  majority  are  ready  now  to  condemn  any  interference 
on  the  part  of  the  Government.     I  heartily  wish  that  peace  and  good  ordef 
may  be  restored  without  issuing  the  proclamation.    But  if  it  is  issued,  t  shall 
instruct  the  commander  of  the  forces  to  have  no  child's  play." 

2  The  elections  were  popularly  called  the  "  tidal  wave." 

8  Senate,  42  Rep.,  29  Dem..  2  Ind.;  House,  182  Dem.,  no  Rep. 


230  American  Politics. 

chosen  Speaker.  The  President's  Message  was  de- 
voted mainly  to  foreign  affairs  and  to  a  natural  recog- 
nition of  the  great  material  progress  made  by  the 
nation  during  its  first  century  of  existence.  The 
Session  was  marked  by  an  evident  increase  of  anxiety 
as  to  the  possible  occurrence  of  some  occasion  for 
dispute  between  the  Democratic  House  and  the 
Republicr.n  Senate  about  the  result  of  the  impending 
Presidential  election  ;  but  party  jealousy,  and  fear  of 
losing  any  party  advantage  from  the  Southern  situa- 
tion, prevented  any  remedial  action.  Morton's 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution,1  and  several  other 
Amendments,  with  the  same  general  object,  were  in- 
troduced, but  not  passed.  Morton's  bill  to  provide 
for  the  counting  of  the  electoral  votes  met  the  same 
fate.  The  Senate  abolished  the  Twenty-second  Joint 
Rule,  so  that  the  electoral  count  was  now  left  with- 
out any  provisions  whatever  for  its  government.  The 
so-called  Blaine  Amendment,  prohibiting  the  ap- 
propriation of  public  school  money  by  any  State  to 
sectarian  schools,  passed  the  House  but  did  not 
secure  a  two  thirds  vote  in  the  Senate.2  An  unlim- 
ited Amnesty  Bill  failed  to  secure  a  two-thirds 
vote  in  the  House.  A  bill  to  reduce  the  President's 
salary  to  $25,000  yearly  after  March  4th,  1877,  passed 
both  Houses,  but  was  vetoed  and  failed  to  become 
law.  An  appropriation  of  $1,500,000  was  made  to 
the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia.  The 

1  See  p.  227.  a  28  to  16  in  favor. 


1876.]  The  Centennial.  231 

Secretary  of  War,  W.  W.  Belknap,  was  impeached  by 
the  House  on  a  charge  of  having  received  bribes  for 
the  appointment  of  a  post-trader  at  Fort  Sill.  The 
general  vote  in  the  Senate  was  36  to  25  for  convic- 
tion,1 and  as  this  was  not  two  thirds  he  was  acquitted. 
Congress  adjourned  August  i5th,  1876.  The  end 
of  the  first,  and  the  beginning  of  the  second,  century 
of  the  separate  national  existence  of  the  United 
States  was  marked  by  the  opening  of  the  Centen- 
nial Exhibition  at  Philadelphia,2  and  by  an  unusu- 
ally general  celebration,  July  4th.  Colorado  became 
a  State  of  the  Union  August  ist,  1876. 

8.  The  Independent  National  Convention 
met  at  Indianapolis,  May  i7th,  1876.  Its  platform 
demanded  the  repeal  of  the  act  for  resumption  of 
specie  payments,  and  the  issue  of  United  States 
notes  ("greenbacks"  3 ),  convertible  into  bonds  on 
demand,  as  the  currency  of  the  country.  It  nomi- 
nated Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  for  President,  and 
Samuel  F.  Gary,  of  Ohio,  for  Vice- President.4  The 
Republican  National  Convention  met  at  Cin- 
cinnati, June  i4th,  and  adopted  a  platform  which 
reviewed  the  party's  past  achievements,  charged  the 
Democratic  party  with  treason,  imbecility,  falsehood, 


1  He  had  anticipated  impeachment  by  resigning  in  the  forenoon  of  the  day 
on  which  he  was  impeached,  and  most  of  the  Senators  who  voted  Not  Guilty 
stated  that  they  did  so  on  the  ground  that  he  was  then  a  private  citizen  and 
not  subject  to  impeachment.  2  May  loth,  1876. 

3  Hence  this  was  usually  called  the  Greenback  Party. 

4  Newton  Booth,  of  California,  was  first  nominated  for  Vice-President,  bit 
declined. 


232  American  Politics.  [1876. 

and  subservience  to  former  rebels,  commended  the 
resumption  of  specie  payments,  and  demanded  the 
immediate  and  vigorous  exercise  of  Federal  powers 
to  secure  the  rights  of  American  citizens  everywhere 
throughout  the  country.  Much  excitement  had  been 
caused  by  an  alleged  design  of  President  Grant  to 
secure  for  himself  a  Third  Term,  but  his  name  was 
not  presented  to  the  Convention  for  the  Presidential 
nomination.  On  the  first  six  ballots  James  G.  Elaine, 
of  Maine,  led  all  the  other  candidates  ;  on  the  seventh 
ballot  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  was  nominated 
by  384  votes,  to  351  for  Elaine  and  21  for  B.  H. 
Bristow,  of  Kentucky.  William  A.  Wheeler,  of  New 
York,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President.  The 
Democratic  National  Convention  met  at  St. 
Louis,  June  28th,  and  adopted  a  platform  entirely 
occupied  by  denunciation  of  the  Republican  party  for 
corruption,  mismanagement,  personal  government 
and  sectional  hatred,  and  by  demands  for  reform ; 
included  in  these  was  a  demand  for  the  repeal  of 
the  specie  resumption  Act  until  proper  preparation 
should  be  made  for  its  successful  enforcement.  On 
the  second  Presidential  ballot,  Samuel  J.  Tilden  had 
535  votes  to  203  for  all  others,  and  was  nominated. 
His  leading  competitor.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of 
Indiana,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President. 

9.  The  nomination  of  Hayes  sensibly  strengthened 
the  Republican  party.  A  strong  section  of  its  mem- 
bers had  held  a  preliminary  meeting,  May  15th,1  and 

1  The  so-called  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  Conference. 


1876.]  Presidential  Election.  233 

resolved  to  support  no  candidate  not  pledged  to  civil 
service  reform.  Their  warm  support  was  at  once 
gained  by  the  unexpected  emphasis  with  which  the 
nominee  advocated  the  cessation  of  the  sale  of  ap- 
pointments to  office  for  party  services.  The  Demo- 
cratic chances  were  increased  by  the  evident  cer- 
tainty of  the  choice  of  Democratic  electors  in  all  the 
Southern  States  excepting  three.  In  .one  of  these, 
South  Carolina,  the  Legislature  had  long  been  ex- 
travagant and  corrupt,  and  the  Presidential  campaign 
was  complicated  with  a  final  and  desperate  effort  by 
the  whites  to  secure  control  of  the  State  government. 
In  the  course  of  it  a  massacre  of  a  negro  militia  force 
at  Hamburgh,1  and  another  at  Ellenton,  induced  a 
call  for  Federal  troops  by  the  Governor,  and  these 
were  placed  at  his  disposal  by  the  President.  The 
Presidential  election  took  place  November  7th, 
1876.  Democratic  electors  were  chosen  by  Connec- 
ticut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Indiana  in  the 
North,  and  by  all  the  Southern  States  except  South 
Carolina,  Florida,  and  Louisiana  ;  Republican  elec- 
tors were  chosen  by  South  Carolina2  in  the  South, 
and  by  all  the  Northern  States  except  those  named 
above.  The  undisputed  results  3  of  the  election  were 

1  July  pth. 

*  This  State  was  also  claimed  at  first  by  the  Democrats,  but  their  members 
of  the  Congressional  investigating  committee  agreed  that  the  State  had  chosen 
Republican  electors. 

8  The  Republicans  alleged  that  very  many  of  the  Southern  electoral  votes 
had  been  obtained  for  the  Democratic  candidates  by  the  violent  suppressioo 
of  the  colored  vote,  but  did  not  formally  dispute  the  count  of  these  votes.  Ths 
Democrats  disputed  the  count  of  many  individual  Republican  electoral  votef 


234  American  Politics.  [1876. 

therefore  184  electoral  votes  for  Tilden  and  Hen- 
dricks,  and  172  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  and  the 
whole  result  of  the  election  hinged  upon  the  final 
declaration  of  the  results  in  Florida  and  Louisiana, 
that  is,  upon  the  decisions  of  the  Returning  Boards 
of  those  States,  and  upon  the  one  disputed  vote  of 
Oregon. 

10.  As  soon  as  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  doubtful 
States  was  discovered,  a  large  number  of  prominent 
citizens  from  the  North  went  to  the  State  capitals  to 
oversee  the  count,  by  invitation  of  President  Grant 
and  of  the  Democratic  National  Committee.  The 
four  electoral  votes  of  Florida  were  decided  by  the 
Returning  Board  to  be  Republican  by  a  majority  of 
926  ;  this  result  was  reached  by  casting  out  the  votes 
of  various  precincts  and  counties.  The  State  Supreme 
Court  then  ordered  the  Board  to  declare  the  result  of 
"the  face  of  the  returns,"  '  without  casting  out  any. 
The  Board  again  met,  cast  out  the  votes  of  certain 
other  precincts  and  counties,  and  declared  a  Repub- 

in  the  North,  on  the  ground  that  the  electors  who  cast  them  were  Federal 
office-holders  ;  but  in  these  cases  the  ineligible  electors  regularly  resigned 
before  acting  and  were  re-chosen  by  the  electoral  colleges  to  fill  the  resulting 
vacancies.  The  statement  above  is  therefore  made  as  "  undisputed."  It 
does  not  include  the  single  vote  of  Oregon. 

4  What  the  real  "  face  of  the  returns  "  was  is  doubtful.  Those  acknowledged 
by  the  Board  and  those  claimed  by  the  Democrats  agree  very  closely,  except 
as  to  Baker  County.  From  this  cou.ity  two  returns  were  sent :  (i)  130  Rep., 
89  Dem.,  Rep.  maj.  41  ;  and  (2)  143  Rep.,  238  Dem.,  Dem.  maj.  95.  The 
former  was  taken  by  the  Board,  while  the  latter  was  claimed  by  the  Demo- 
crats. As  the  sum  total  of  the  votes  of  all  the  other  counties,  as  acknowledged 
by  both  parties,  is  almost  an  exact  tie  on  the  face  of  the  returns,  it  will  be 
Seen  that  the  gist  of  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  double  return  from  Baker  County. 


1876.]  Presidential  Election.  235 

lican  majority  of  206.  Before  this  was  done,  how- 
ever, the  day  appointed  -for  the  voting  of  the  electors 
had  come,  and  the  Republican  electors  met  and 
voted.  In  Louisiana  the  Democratic  electors  pro- 
tested without  effect  against  the  refusal  of  the  Return- 
ing Board  to  add  a  Democrat  to  their  number,  as  the 
law  required,  and  against  their  refusal  to  canvass  all 
the  votes  in  public.  After  a  three-weeks'  session, 
and  many  changes  in  the  returns,  the  Board  declared 
the  Republican  electors  successful  by  an  average 
majority  of  about  4,000;  the  Democrats  claimed 
8,000  majority  on  the  face  of  the  returns.1  McEnery, 
claiming  to  be  Governor,  gave  the  Democratic  elec- 
tors a  certificate  of  election  ;  in  Florida  the  Attorney- 
General,  as  one  of  the  Returning  Board,  signed  the 
Democratic  certificate.  In  both  States  the  Republi- 
can Governor  signed  the  certificates  of  the  Republi- 
can electors.  In  Oregon  the  three  Republican  elec- 
tors had  a  majority,  but,  on  the  claim  that  one  of 
them  was  a  Federal  office-holder  and  ineligible,  the 
Democratic  Governor  gave  a  certificate  of  the  elec- 
tion of  one  Democratic  and  two  Republican  electors. 
The  three  Republican  electors  were  certified  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  who  was  the  canvassing  officer  of 
the  State  by  statute. 

ii.  Congress  met  December  5th,  1876.    The  Pres- 

XLIVth  Congress,     ident's  Message  deprecated 

2d  Session.  harsh  judgment  for  any  mis- 


1  (Returns,  average)  Rep.,  75.759,  Dem.,  83,635,  Dem.  maj.,  7,876;  (Re 
turning  Board,  average)  Rep.,  74,436,  Dem.,  70,505,  Rep.  maj.  3,931. 


236  American  Politics.  t^/S- 

takes  of  judgment  which  he  had  made  in  his  two 
terms  of  office,  and  attributed  them  mainly  to  the 
subordinates  whose  appointment  had  been  forced 
upon  him  by  Congressmen.  In  the  House,  S.  J. 
Randall,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  chosen  Speaker  in 
place  of  Speaker  Kerr,  who  had  died  during  the  sum- 
mer. The  Session  was  almost  entirely  taken  up  by 
the  Disputed  Presidential  Election.  It  was 
evident  that  neither  House  would  consent  to  the 
adoption  of  a  joint  rule  for  the  count  which  should 
seem  to  operate  against  the  candidates  of  its  major- 
ity. Extreme  Republicans  were  beginning  to  advance 
the  idea  that  the  Vice-President,  who  was  to  open  the 
certificates,  was  also  to  decide  between  two  returns  ; 
extreme  Democrats  argued  the  right  of  the  House  to 
decide  when  the  emergency  had  arrived  in  which  it 
was  to  elect  a  President.  As  a  compromise,  the 
Electoral  Commission  was  created  by  Act  of 
January  29th,  1877  ;  it  was  to  consist  of  five  mem- 
bers chosen  by  the  House,  five  by  the  Senate,  and 
five  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Double  returns, 
and  all  returns  to  which  objection  should  be  made, 
were  to  be  referred  to  this  Commission,  whose  deci- 
sion was  to  be  final  unless  reversed  by  the  vote  of 
both  Houses.  The  general  rule  held  by  the  Com 
mission  was  that  it  was  only  empowered  to  canvass 
electoral  votes,  not  popular  votes,  and  to  decide 
whether  the  Governor  had  certified  those  electors 
who  had  been  declared  elected  by  the  canvassing 
authority  of  the  State.  It  thus  ascertain? \  that  in 


1 877.]  Electoral  Commission.  237 

Louisiana  and  Florida  the  Governors  had  certified 
the  legitimate  electors,  while  in  Oregon  the  Governor 
had  not.  In  all  these  cases  the  House  voted  to  reject, 
and  the  Senate  to  sustain,  the  Commission's  decision, 
and  the  decision  was  therefore  sustained  in  favor  of 
the  Republican  electors.  In  the  case  of  South  Caro- 
lina, and  in  those  of  electors  objected  to  as  Federal 
office-holders,  the  Commission  also  decided  in  favor 
of  the  Republican  electors,  and  the  decision  was  not 
reversed  by  concurrent  vote  of  both  Houses.  All  the 
thirteen  doubtful  votes  1  thus  fell  to  the  Republican 
candidates,  and  the  result  was  declared2  to  be  185 
votes  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  and  184  votes  for 
Tilden  and  Hendricks.  Hayes  and  Wheeler  were 
therefore  declared  elected.  March  jd,  1877,  Con- 
gress adjourned,  and  March  4th,  Hayes  and  Wheeler 
were  sworn  into  office. 

1  Florida  4,  Louisiana  8,  Oregon  i. 

2  After  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  March  ad. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

TWENTY-THIRD    ADMINISTRATION,    1877-1881. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  Presi-  William  A.  Wheeler,  Vice, 

dent.  President. 

XLVth  and  XLVIth  Congresses. 

Popular  vote  for  President  in  1876:  .£^.4,284,757, 

Rep.  4.Q33.950.1 

i.  IN  Florida  the  State  Supreme  Court  had  per- 
sisted in  compelling  a  count  upon  the  face  of  the 
returns  of  the  votes  for  State  officers,  and  the  Demo- 
cratic State  government  was  thus  finally  declared 
elected  and  inaugurated,  although  the  Returning 
Board  had  at  first  given  the  election  to  the  Republi- 
can candidates.  In  South  Carolina  and  Louisi- 
ana President  Hayes,  soon  after  his  inauguration, 
ordered  the  Federal  troops  to  be  withdrawn,2  and  the 
Democratic  State  governments  at  once  took  posses- 
sion without  resistance.  It  was  charged  that  the 
President  had  thereby  impeached  his  own  title  to  the 
Presidency,  which  "  rested  upon  the  action  of  the 

1  In  Florida  and  Louisiana  the  Returning  Board  count  has  been  taken. 

2  Similar  orders  were  given   in   March  by  President  Grant,  but  were  not 
executed. 


1 877.]  Returning  Boards.  239 

same  Returning  Boards  which  had  declared  the  Re- 
publican Governors  elected."  It  must  be  noted, 
therefore,  that  electors  are  to  be  chosen  "  in  such 
manner  as  the  Legislature  of  the  State  may  direct," 
and  that  the  power  of  a  Legislature  to  commit  the 
choice  of  electors  to  a  Returning  Board  may  be  ad- 
mitted without  admitting  its  power  to  delegate  the 
choice  of  State  officers  to  the  same  hands.  During 
the  summer  extensive  Railroad  Strikes  and  other 
disorders  caused  considerable  alarm  and  loss  of  prop- 
erty and  life,  but  were  successfully  suppressed  by  the 
State  authorities,  assisted,  wherever  necessary,  by 
United  States  troops. 

2.  Congress  met  October  isth,1  1877,  having  been 
XLVth  Congress,     called  to  an  early  session  by 
ist  Session.  a  proclamation  of  the  Presi- 

dent, in  consequence  of  the  failure  of  the  preceding 
Congress  to  pass  the  appropriation  for  the  army. 
The  Senate  was  still  Republican  and  the  House 
Democratic.  In  the  House  Speaker  Randall  was 
re-elected  by  149  votes  to  132  for  James  A.  Garfield, 
of  Ohio.  The  most  striking  action  of  the  Session  was 
the  passage  of  the  Bland  Silver  Bill.  The  Act 
of  July  i4th,  1870,  to  refund  the  national  debt,  had 
made  all  bonds  issued  under  it  payable  in  "  coin  ; " 
and  the  Act  of  February  i2th,  1873,  na^  "demon- 
etized" the  silver  dollar,  that  is,  had  dropped  it  from 
the  list  of  United  States  coins.  Since  that  time  the 
value  of  silver,  as  compared  with  gold,  had  been  very 

1  Senate,  Rep.  39,  Dem.  36,  Ind.  i  ;  House,  Dem.  153,  Rep.  140. 


240  American  Politics. 

steadily  falling,  and  a  strong  feeling  had  grown  up  in 
both  parties  that  the  silver  dollar  should  be  restored 
to  the  list  of  coins  and  used,  at  least  in  part,  for  the 
payment  of  bonds.  The  Bland  Bill  provided  for  the 
resumption  of  the  coinage  of  the  silver  dollar  of  412^- 
grains  (worth  then  about  92  cents),  made  it  a  legal 
tender  for  public  and  private  debts,  and  directed  its 
coinage  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  $2,000,000  or 
more  than  $4,000,000  monthly.  It  was  vetoed,  and 
was  passed  over  the  veto  by  heavy  majorities.  An 
Act  was  passed  forbidding  the  further  retirement  of 
United  States  notes.  An  Army  Appropriation  Bill 
was  passed  containing  a  proviso  that  it  should  not  be 
lawful  to  employ  any  part  of  the  army  as  a.  posse  comi- 
tatus,  except  as  expressly  authorized  by  the  Constitu- 
tion or  by  Act  of  Congress.  A  House  committee, 
commonly  known  as  the  Potter  Committee,1  was 
appointed  to  investigate  the  alleged  frauds  in  the 
Southern  States.  Congress  adjourned  June  2oth, 
1878.  An  unexpected  result  of  the  Potter  Commit- 
tee's investigation  was  the  discovery  of  a  number  of 
Cipher  Telegrams  *  from  persons  nearly  connected 
with  Mr.  Tilden,  having  for  their  object  the  bribery 
of  the  Returning  Boards.  Mr.  Tilden  denied  that  he 
was  a  party  to  these  negotiations. 

3.  From  the  beginning  of  his  Administration,  Pres- 
ident Hayes  had  not  the  hearty  support  of  any  party 
in  Congress.  To  many  of  the  Republicans,  who  had 

1  So-called  from  its  chairman,  Clarkson  N.  Potter,  of  New  York. 

2  These  were  mainly  translated  in  the  office  of  the  Nem  York  Tribune. 


1 877.]  Hayes1  Administration.  241 

grown  up  under  the  enforcement  system,  his  with- 
drawal of  Federal  troops  from  Southern  States,  and 
his  efforts  to  conciliate  the  South  in  other  ways, 
seemed  to  be  weak,  wavering,  and  "Sunday-school 
politics;"  very  great  feeling  was  excited  among  the 
Democrats  by  his  appointment  of  members  of  the 
Returning  Boards  to  Federal  offices ;  his  partial 
efforts  to  free  himself  fi  dm  the  control  which  Con- 
gressmen had  gradually  acquired  over  appointments 
deprived  him  of  much  of  a  President's  usual  influence 
over  Congress ;  and  the  sudden  rise  to  prominence 
of  financial  questions,  on  which  neither  party  was 
thoroughly  united,  left  him  without  any  general  or 
coherent  party  support.  Many  Administration  meas- 
ures were  defeated,  and  others  were  only  carried  by 
Democratic  votes.  Nevertheless,  President  Hayes' 
term  of  office  was  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  coun- 
try as  a  breathing-spell,  and  a  relief  from  the  almost 
intolerable  violence  of  party  contest.  During  these 
two  years  the  Greenback  or  National  Party,  which 
was  mainly  opposed  to  the  proposed  resumption  of 
specie  payments,  had  largely  increased  its  popular 
vote.  In  1876  it  had  polled  80,000  votes  ;  in  the  State 
elections  of  1878  this  was  increased  to  over  1,000,000. 
Specie  payments  for  United  States  notes  were  re- 
sumed without  difficulty,  January  ist,  1879. 

4.  Congress  met  December  ad,  1878.     The  Presi- 

XLfVth  Congress,     dent's    Message    urged   upon 

2d  Session.  the  attention  of  Congress  the 

alleged  continuance  of  intimidation  of  negro  voters  in 

16 


242  American  Politics.  [1879. 

the  South.  The  only  important  legislation  of  the 
Session  was  an  Act  authorizing  the  refunding  of  the 
national  debt  at  four  per  cent,  interest,  and  an  Act 
giving  arrears  of  pension  to  those  who  had  not  yet  filed 
applications.  Congress  adjourned  March  4th,  1879, 
without  passing  the  Army  Appropriation  Bill, 
owing  to  an  endeavor  by  the  House  to  add  as  a 
"  rider  "' to  it  a  bill  to  repeal  the  general  election 
law.2 

5.  Congress  met  March  i8th,  1879,  having  been 
XLVth  Congress,  summoned  to  an  extra  session 

Extra  Session.  by  a  proclamation  of  the  Pres- 
ident. Both  branches  had  Democratic  majorities,' 
and  in  the  House  Speaker  Randall  was  re-elected. 
The  Warner  Silver  Bill,  providing  for  the  un- 
limited coinage  of  silver,  was  passed  by  the  House, 
but  the  Senate  Finance  Committee  refused  to  report 
it.  The  main  business  of  the  Session  was  with  the 
Appropriation  Bills,  to  all  of  which  the  Demo- 
cratic majority  added  "riders"  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  out  a  reduction  of  Federal  power.  To  the 
Army  Bill  a  rider  was  added  repealing  the  existing 
permission  to  the  army  to  "keep  the  peace  at  the 
polls;"  to  the  Legislative  Bill  was  added  another, 
repealing  the  authority  given  to  Federal  supervisors 
to  count  the  votes  at  Congressional  elections,  and  to 
Federal  marshals  to  arrest  at  the  polls  ;  and  to  the 
Judiciary  Bill  was  added  another,  forbidding  the  pay- 

1  See  p.  149.  a  See  p.  216. 

3  Senate,  Dem.  42,  Rep.  33,  Ind.  i  ;  House,  Dem.  149.  Rep.  130,  Nat.  14, 


1 879.]  The  Extra  Session.  243 

ment  of  Federal  marshals  for  "services  in  connection 
with  elections."  All  these  were  opposed  by  the  Re- 
publicans as  efforts  to  coerce  a  co-ordinate  branch 
of  the  Government  by  refusing  appropriations,  were 
vetoed  by  the  President,  and  failed  to  become  law. 
Having  finally  passed  the  Appropriation  Bills  without 
riders,  Congress  adjourned  July  ist,  1879.  During 
the  summer  a  considerable  Negro  Exodus  took 
place  from  the  South  to  the  Northwest.  It  was 
ascribed  by  Republicans  to  Southern  ill-treatment  of 
negroes,  and  by  Democrats  to  the  operations  of  rail- 
road agents. 

6.   Congress  met  December  ist,  1879.     The  Pres- 
XLVIth  Congress,     ident' s  Message  advised  Con- 
ist  Session.  gress  not  to  legislate  further 

at  present  in  regard  to  the  coinage,  recommended  the 
retirement  of  the  legal  tenders,  and  urged  the  neces- 
sity of  reform  in  the  civil  service.  No  important 
political  action  was  taken  except  the  passage  of  a 
law  to  prevent  the  use  of  the  army  to  keep  the  peace 
at  the  polls,  but  with  the  proviso  that  it  should  not 
be  construed  to  prevent  the  constitutional  use  of  the 
army  to  suppress  domestic  violence  in  a  State.  The 
-riders"  of  the  last  Session  were  again  added  to 
Appropriation  and  Deficiency  Bills,  but  were  again 
vetoed  and  failed  to  become  law.  The  Democratic 
opposition  to  the  General  Election  Law  was  very 
much  weakened  by  a  Supreme  Court  decision  during 
the  Session,  upholding  the  constitutionality  of  the 
law.  Congress  adjourned  June  i6th,  1880.  Not 


244  American  Politics.  [1880. 

one  effective  step  had  yet  been  taken,  by  statute  01 
amendment,  to  avoid  the  recurrence  of  a  disputed 
electoral  count  such  as  that  of  1876.  The  Republi- 
cans were  unwilling  to  entrust  the  count  entirely  to 
the  control  of  a  Democratic  Congress,  and  neither 
party  was  willing  to  entrust  the  final  and  absolute 
decision  upon  the  validity  of  a  State's  electoral  votes 
to  the  highest  judicial  authority  of  the  State  itself.1 
The  attempted  counting-out  of  the  Republican  major- 
ity in  the  Legislature  of  Maine,  by  the  Governor  and 
Council,  in  the  winter  of  1878-79,  had  emphasized 
the  danger  by  showing  the  possibility  of  double 
returns  from  some  Northern  State ;  but  nothing 
was  done,  nor  has  anything  since  been  done  in  this 
direction. 

7.  The  Republican  National  Convention  met 
June  5th,  1880,  at  Chicago.  The  Grant  majority  in 
the  State  Conventions  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Illinois  had  ordered  their  delegates  to  cast  the 
entire  vote  of  their  States  for  ex-President  Grant, 
without  regard  to  the  preferences  of  individual  dis- 
tricts. The  Convention,  however,  refused  to  recog- 
nize the  unit  rule,  and  absolved  the  delegates  from 
obedience  to  it.  The  platform  detailed  the  party's 
achievements  in  the  past,  denounced  the  Democratic 
party  and  the  "  Solid  South,"  and  favored  a  protec- 
tive tariff,  the  protection  of  all  citizens  in  all  their 
rights  by  Federal  power,  and  the  restriction  of 

1  This,  the  proposition  of  Senator  Edmunds,  of  Vermont,  would  seem  to  t* 
in  strict  pursuance  of  the  intention  of  the  electoral  system. 


l88o.]  Presidential  Election.  245 

Chinese  immigration.  On  the  thirty-sixth  ballot, 
June  8th,  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  was  nominated 
for  President.  His  nomination  was  the  result  of  a 
sudden  union  of  the  Elaine,  Sherman,  and  other  dele- 
gates against  those  delegates,  about  306  in  number, 
who  voted  steadily  for  Grant  to  the  end.  Chester  A. 
Arthur,  of  New  York,  was  nominated  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent.  The  Greenback- Labor  National  Con- 
vention met  at  Chicago,  June  gth,  and  adopted  a 
platform  which  claimed  for  the  Government  the  en- 
tire control  of  the  issue  of  money,  and  condemned 
the  grant  of  any  such  power  to  corporations,  the  con- 
tinuance of  grants  of  lands  to  railroads,  and  the  immi- 
gration of  Chinese.  It  nominated  James'  B.  Weaver, 
of  Iowa,  for  President,  and  B.  J.  Chambers,  of  Texas, 
for  Vice-President.  The  Democratic  National 
Convention  met  at  Cincinnati,  June  226,  and 
adopted  a  strict  construction  platform.  It  called 
for  home  rule,  honest  money  ("gold  and  silver,  and 
paper  convertible  into  coin  on  demand"  '),  a  revenue 
tariff,  and  permission  to  purchase  ships  abroad,  and 
denounced  the  "fraud  of  1876-77"  and  the  Admin- 
istration's "  claim  of  a  right  to  surround  the  ballot- 
boxes  with  troops."  It  nominated  Winfield  S.  Han- 
cock, of  Pennsylvania,  for  President,  on  the  second 
ballot,  and  William  H.  English,  of  Indiana,  for  Vice- 
President.  In  the  Presidential  election  in  No- 
vember, Democratic  electors  were  chosen  by  all  the 

1  The  latter  part  of  this  definition  would  hardly  have  been  accepted  by  the 
original,  or  Jeffersonian,  Democracy. 


246  American  Politics.  [1880. 

Southern  States,  and  by  New  Jersey,  California,1  and 
Nevada  in  the  North  ;  all  the  other  States  chose  Re- 
publican electors.  On  the  entire  popular  vote  the 
Republicans  had  a  slight  plurality,2  neither  party  hav- 
ing a  majority.  The  Greenback  vote  did  not  affect  the 
result,  except  in  California,  Indiana,  and  New  Jersey, 
where  it  prevented  either  party  from  having  a  majori- 
ty. The  Congressional  elections  gave  the  Republi- 
cans a  majority  of  one  over  all  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives,3 which  was  to  meet  in  December,  1881. 
8.  Congress  met  December  6th,  1880.  The  prin- 
XLVIth  Congress,  cipal  business  of  the  Session 
2d  Session.  was  the  count  of  the  electo- 

ral votes,  as  to  which  there  was,  luckily,  no  doubtful 
question  of  vital  importance  to  either  party.  Georgia 
had  as  yet  neglected  to  alter  her  State  law,  as  passed 
under  the  Confederacy,  by  which  her  electors  met 
and  voted  on  the  second  Wednesday  of  December 
instead  of  the  first  Wednesday,  as  required  by  Federal 
law.  Both  parties  amicably  agreed  to  count  the  vote  of 
Georgia  "in  the  alternative,"4  declaring  that  Garfield 
and  Arthur  had  214  votes,  that  Hancock  and  English 
had  155  votes  if  the  vote  of  Georgia  were  counted,  and 
144  votes  if  the  vote  of  Georgia  were  not  counted, 
and  that  in  either  case  Garfield  and  Arthur  were 
elected.  Congress  adjourned  March  3d,  1881,  and 
March  4th  Garfield  and  Arthur  were  sworn  into  office. 

1  One  Democratic  elector  in  California  was  defeated. 
3  Rep.  4,442,950,  Dem.  4,442,035.  Grb.  306,867,  Scat.  12,576  ;  Rep.  plur. 
915.  3  Rep.  147,  Dem.  136,  Grb.  9,  Ind.  i.  4  See  p.  90. 


1 88 1.]  Civil-Service  Reform.  247 

9.  An  extra  session  of  the  Senate,  to  consider  the 
new  President's  nominations  to  office,  met  immedi- 
ately after  the  inauguration.  In  actual  membership 
the  parties  were  a  tie,1  but  the  casting  vote  of  the 
Vice-President  gave  the  Republicans  a  majority. 
They  at  once  undertook  to  change  the  employees  of 
the  Senate,  as  the  Democrats  had  done  on  obtaining 
control  of  the  Senate.  The  Democrats  resisted  the 
attempt  on  the  ground  that  the  Senate,  at  its  extra 
session,  ought  to  attend  only  to  the  specific  business 
for  which  it  had  been  summoned ;  and,  there  being 
no  rules  in  the  Senate  to  limit  debate,  the  dispute 
was  prolonged  for  many  weeks,  to  the  neglect  of  all 
other  business.  The  sudden  resignation  of  the  two 
Republican  Senators  from  New  York,  because  of  a 
disagreement  with  the  President  as  to  certain  ap- 
pointments in  their  State,  left  the  Democrats  in  the 
majority,  and  the  Senate,  having  confirmed  the  Pres- 
ident's nominations,  adjourned  May  24th,  1881.  The 
attention  of  the  whole  people  was  again  called  to  the 
necessity  of  Civil- Service  Reform — which  had  long 
been  formally  approved  by  all  parties  and  faithfully 
executed  by  none — by  the  crime  of  a  disappointed 
office-seeker  in  shooting  the  President,  with  intent  to 
kill  him,  July  2d,  1881.  September  igth,  President 
Garfield  died,  and  Vice-President  Arthur  became 
President  in  '.is  stead. 


'  Dem.  37,  Rep.  37,  Ind.  2.     The  independent  vote  was  divided  between 
the  two  parties. 


APPENDIX  A. 
Articles  of  Confederation. 

Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  between 
the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  JBay, 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dela- 
ware, Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia. 

ARTICLE  I. — The  style  of  this  Confederacy  shall  be, 
"  The  United  States  of  America." 

ARTICLE  II. — Each  State  retains  its  sovereignty, 
freedom,  and  independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdic- 
tion, and  right,  which  is  not  by  this  Confederation  ex 
pressly  delegated  to  the  United  States  in  Congress  as- 
•embled. 

ARTICLE  III. — The  said  States  hereby  severally  en 
ter  into  a  firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other,  for 
their  common  defense,  the  security  of  their  liberties, 
and  their  mutual  and  general  welfare,  binding  them- 
selves to  assist  each  other  against  all  force  offered  ta 
248 


Articles  of  Confederation.  249 

or  attacks  made  upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  ac- 
count of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pre- 
tense whatever. 

ARTICLE  IV. — The  bettei  to  secure  and  perpetu- 
ate mutual  friendship  and  intercourse  among  the  peo- 
ple of  the  different  States  in  this  Union,  the  free  inhab- 
itants of  each  of  these  States,  paupers,  vagabonds,  and 
fugitives  from  justice  excepted,  shall  be  entitled  to  al) 
privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citizens  in  the  several 
States ;  and  the  people  of  each  State  shall  have  free 
ingress  and  regress  to  and  from  any  other  State,  and 
shall  enjoy  therein  all  the  privileges  of  trade  and  com- 
merce subject  to  the  same  duties,  impositions,  and  re- 
strictions as  the  inhabitants  thereof  respectively;  pro- 
vided that  such  restrictions  shall  not  extend  so  far  as  to 
prevent  the  removal  of  property  imported  into  any  State 
to  any  other  State  of  which  the  owner  is  an  inhabit- 
ant; provided  also,  that  no  imposition,  duties,  or  re 
striction  shall  be  laid  by  any  State  on  the  property  of 
the  United  States  or  either  of  them.  If  any  person 
guilty  of,  or  charged  with,  treason,  felony,  or  other  high 
misdemeanor  in  any  State  shall  flee  from  justice  and 
be  found  in  any  of  the  United  States,  he  shail,  upon 
demand  of  the  governor  or  executive  power  of  the 
State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed 
to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offense.  Full 
faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these  States 
to  the  records,  acts,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  the 
courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  State. 

ARTICLE  V. — For  the  more  convenient  managemenl 


250  Appendix  A. 

of  the  general  interests  of  the  United  States,  delegate* 
shall  be  annually  appointed  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislature  of  each  State  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Con- 
gress on  the  first  Monday  in  November,  in  every  year 
with  a  power  reserved  to  each  State  to  recall  its  dele 
gates,  or  any  of  them,  at  any  time  within  the  year,  and 
to  send  others  in  their  stead  for  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  No  State  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by 
less  than  two,  nor  by  more  than  seven  members ;  and 
no  person  shall  be  capable  of  being  a  delegate  for  more 
than  three  years  in  any  term  of  six  years;  nor  shall 
any  person,  being  a  delegate,  be  capable  of  holding 
any  office  under  the  United  States  for  which  he,  or 
another  for  his  benefit,  receives  any  salary,  fees,  or 
emolument  of  any  kind.  Each  State  shall  maintain  »'ts 
own  delegates  in  any  meeting  of  the  States  and  while 
they  act  as  members  of  the  Committee  of  the  States. 
In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  each  State  shall  have  one  vote.  Free- 
dom of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be 
impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court  or  place  out  of 
Congress ;  and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  be  pro- 
tected in  their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonment 
during  the  time  of  their  going  to  and  from,  and  at- 
tendance on,  Congress,  except  for  treason,  felony,  ot 
breach  of  the  peace. 

ARTICLE  VI. — No  State,  without  the  consent  of  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  send  any 
embassy  to,  or  receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into 
Any  conference,  agreement,  reliance,  or  treaty  with  any 


Articles  of  Confederation.  251 

king,  prince,  or  stats;  nor  shall  any  person  helling  any 
office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the  United  States,  or  any 
of  them,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  01 
title  of  any  kind  whatever  from  any  king,  prince,  ot 
oreign  state;  nor  shall  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  two  or  more  States  shall  enter  into  any  treaty, 
confederation,  or  alliance  whatever  between  them, 
without  the  consent  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  specifying  accurately  the  purposes  for  which 
the  same  is  to  be  entered  into,  and  how  long  it  shall 
continue. 

No  State  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  which  may 
interfere  with  any  stipulations  in  treaties  entered  into 
by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any 
king,  prince,  or  state,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  al- 
ready proposed  by  Congress  to  the  courts  of  France 
and  Spain. 

No  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace 
by  any  State,  except  such  number  only  as  shall  be 
deemed  necessary  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  for  the  defense  of  such  State  or  its  trade,  nor 
shall  any  body  of  forces  be  kept  up  by  any  State  in 
time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only  as,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall 
be  deemed  requisite  to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for 
the  defense  of  such  State;  but  every  State  shall  always 
keep  up  a  well-regulated  and  disciplined  militia,  suffi- 
ciently armed  and  accoutered,  and  shall  provide  and 
constantly  have  ready  for  use  in  public  stores  a  due 


252  Appendix  A. 

number  of  field -pieces  and  tents,  and  a  proper  quantity 
of  arms,  ammunition  and  camp  equipage. 

No  State  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  L  nited  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  un- 
L-ss  such  State  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  sha 
have  received  certain  advice  of  a  resolution  being 
formed  by  some  nation  of  Indians  to  invade  such  State, 
and  the  danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  a  de- 
lay till  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  can 
be  consulted;  nor  shall  any  State  grant  commissions  to 
any  ships  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters  of  marque  or  re- 
prisal, except  it  be  after  a  declaration  of  war  by  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  and  then  only 
against  the  kingdom  or  state,  and  the  subjects  thereof, 
against  which  war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such 
regulations  as  shall  be  established  by  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State  be  infested  by 
pirates,  in  which  case  vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out 
for  that  occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as  the  danger  shall 
continue,  or  until  the  United  States,  in  Congress  as- 
sembled, shall  determine  otherwise. 

ARTICLE  VII. — When  land  forces  are  raised  by  any 
State  for  the  common  defense,  all  officers  of  or  under 
ihe  rank  of  Colonel  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  each  State  respectively  by  whom  such  forces 
shall  be  raised,  or  in  such  manner  as  such  State  shall 
direct,  and  all  vacancies  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  Stale 
which  first  made  the  appointment. 

ARTICLE  VIII. —  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  othei 
expenses  that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defense 


Articles  of  Confederation.  253 

01  general  welfare,  r,nd  allowed  by  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a  corn 
mon  treasury,  which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  several 
States  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each 
State,  granted  to,  or  surveyed  for,  any  person,  as  such 
land  and  the  buildings  and  improvements  thereon  shal 
be  estimated,  according  to  such  mode  as  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall,  from  time  to  time, 
direct  and  appoint.  The  taxes  for  paying  that  propor- 
tion shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  authority  and  direc- 
tion of  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  within  the 
time  agreed  upon  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  as- 
sembled. 

ARTICLE  IX. — The  United  States,  in  Congress  as- 
sembled, shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and 
power  of  determining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the 
<;ases  mentioned  in  the  sixth  Article;  of  sending  and 
*«ceiving  ambassadors;  entering  into  treaties  and  al- 
unces,  provided  that  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall  be 
nade,  whereby  the  legislative  power  of  the  respective 
i  lutes  shall  be  restrained  from  imposing  such  imposts- 
» i*J  duties  on  foreigners  as  their  own  people  are  sub- 
>;cted  to,  or  from  prohibiting  the  exportation  or  impor- 
tation of  any  species  of  goods  or  commodities  whatever; 
of  establishing  rules  for  deciding,  in  all  cases,  what 
captures  on  land  and  water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  wh.it 
manner  prizes  taken  by  land  or  naval  forces  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  United  States  shall  be  divided  or  appic- 
priated ;  of  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  ia 
times  of  peace;  appointing  courts  for  the  trial  of  pira- 


254  Appendix  A. 

cies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas:  and  es 
tablishing  courts  for  receiving  and  determining  finally 
appeals  in  all  cases  of  captures ;  provided  that  no  mem- 
ber of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a  judge  of  any  of 
he  said  courts. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  aiso 
be  the  last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differ 
ences  now  subsisting,  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  be- 
tween two  or  more  States  concerning  boundary,  juris- 
diction, or  any  other  cause  whatever;  which  authority 
shall  always  be  exercised  in  the  manner  following : 
Whenever  the  legislative  or  executive  authority,  or  law 
ful  agent  of  any  State  in  controversy  with  another,  shall 
present  a  petition  to  Congress,  stating  the  matter  in 
question,  and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof  shall 
be  given  by  order  of  Congress  to  the  legislative  or  ex- 
ecutive authority  of  the  other  State  in  controversy,  and 
a  day  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties  by 
their  lawful  agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed  to  ap- 
point, by  joint  consent,  commissioners  or  judges  to  con- 
stitute a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  the  matter  in 
question ;  but  if  they  cannot  agree,  Congress  shall  name 
three  persons  out  of  each  of  the  United  States,  and 
'iom  the  list  of  such  persons  each  party  shall  alternately 
trike  out  one,  the  petitioners  beginning,  until  the  num- 
er  shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen ;  and  from  that  num- 
ber not  less  than  seven  nor  more  than  nine  names,  as 
Congress  shall  direct,  shall,  in  the  presence  of  Ccngress, 
be  drawn  out  by  lot;  and  the  persons  whose  names 
shall  be  so  drawn,  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  con) 


Articles  of  Confederation.  255 

missioners  or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  dete  mine  the 
controversy,  so  always  as  a  major  part  of  the  judges 
who  shall  hear  the  cause  shall  agree  in  the  determina- 
tion ;  and  if  either  party  shall  neglect  to  attend  at  the 
day  appointed,  without  showing  reasons  which  Con- 
gress shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being  present,  shall  re- 
fuse to  strike,  the  Congress  shall  proceed  to  nominate 
three  persons  out  of  each  State,  and  the  secretary  of 
Congress  shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  absent  or 
refusing;  and  the  judgment  and  sentence- of  the  court, 
to  be  appointed  in  the  manner  before  prescribed,  shall 
be  final  and  conclusive ;  and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall 
refuse  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  such  court,  or  to 
appear  or  defend  their  claim  or  cause,  the  court  shall 
nevertheless  proceed  to  pronounce  sentence  or  judg- 
ment, which  shall  in  like  manner  be  final  and  decisive ; 
the  judgment  or  sentence  and  other  proceedings  be- 
ing in  either  case  transmitted  to  Congress,  and  lodged 
among  the  acts  of  Congress  for  the  security  of  the  par- 
ties concerned ;  provided,  that  every  commissioner,  be- 
fore he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath,  to  be  ad- 
ministered by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  or  supe- 
rior court  of  the  State  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried, 
**  well  and  truly  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in 
question,  according  to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  with- 
out favor,  affection,  or  hope  of  reward."  Provided, 
also,  that  no  State  shall  be  deprived  of  territory  for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States. 

All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  ioil 
claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  Srctes, 


256  Appendix  A. 

tvhose  jurisdictions,  as  they  may  respect  such  land* 
and  the  States  which  passed  such  grants  are  adjusted, 
the  said  grants  or  either  of  them  being  at  the  same  time 
claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such  settle 
inent  of  jurisdiction,  shall,  on  the  petition  of  eithel 
party  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  be  finally 
determined,  as  near  as  may  be,  in  the  same  manner  as 
is  before  prescribed  for  deciding  disputes  respecting  ter- 
ritorial jurisdiction  between  different  States. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  also 
have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulat- 
ing the  alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own 
authority,  or  by  that  of  the  respective  States ;  fixing  the 
standard  of  weights  and  measures  throughout  the 
United  States;  regulating  the  trade  and  managing  all 
affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of  the 
States ;  provided  that  the  legislative  right  of  any  State, 
within  its  own  limits,  be  not  infringed  or  violated;  es- 
tablishing and  regulating  post  offices  from  one  State  to 
another,  throughout  all  the  United  States,  and  exacting 
such  postage  on  the  papers  passing  through  the  same 
as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  said 
office;  appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  excepting  regiment- 
il  officers;  appointing  all  the  officers  of  the  nava 
forces,  and  commissioning  all  officers  whatever  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States;  making  rules  for  the  gov- 
ernment and  regulation  of  the  said  land  and  navaj 
forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 

The  United  Stater  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  ha\« 


Articles  of  Confederation.  257 

authority  to  appoint  a  committee,  to  sit  in  the  recess  of 
Congress,  to  be  denominated,  "  A  Committee  of  the 
States,"  and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  State, 
and  to  appoint  such  other  committees  and  civil  officers 
as  may  be  necessary  for  managing  the  general  alfairs 
of  the  United  States  under  their  direction ;  to  ar  point 
one  of  their  number  to  preside;  provided  that  no  per- 
son be  allowed  to  serve  in  the  office  of  president  more 
than  one  year  in  any  term  of  three  years ;  to  ascertain 
the  necessary  sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for  the  serv- 
ice of  the  United  States,  and  to  appropriate  and  apply 
the  same  for  defraying  the  public  expenses ;  to  borrow 
money  or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States, 
transmitting  every  half  year  to  the  respective  States  an 
account  of  the  sums  of  money  so  borrowed  or  emitted; 
to  build  and  equip  a  navy ;  to  agree  upon  the  number 
of  land  forces,  and  to  make  requisitions  from  each  State 
for  its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  white  in- 
habitants in  such  State,  which  requisition  shall  be  bind- 
ing ;  and  thereupon  the  Legislature  of  each  State  shall 
appoint  the  regimental  officers,  raise  the  men,  and 
clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them  in  a  soldier-like  manner, 
at  the  expense  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  officers 
and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  shall  march 
to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on 
by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled ;  but  if 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall,  on 
consideration  of  circumstances,  judge  proper  that  any 
State  should  not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller 
number  than  its  quota,  and  that  any  other  L-tate  should 


258  Appendix  A. 

raise  a  greater  number  of  men  than  the  quota  ihereol 
such  extra  number  shall  be  raised,  officered  clothed, 
armed  and  equipped  in  the  same  manner  as  the  quota 
of  such  State,  unless  the  Legislature  of  such  State  shall 
judge  that  such  extra  number  can  not  be  safely  spared 
out  of  the  same,  in  which  case  they  shall  raise,  officer, 
clothe,  arm,  and  equip  as  many  of  such  extra  number 
as  they  judge  *an  be  safely  spared,  and  the  officers  and 
men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  shall  march  to 
the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall 
never  engage  in  a  war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal  in  time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or 
alliances,  nor  coin  money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof, 
nor  ascertain  the  sums  and  expenses  necessary  for  the 
defense  and  welfare  of  the  United  States,  or  any  of 
them,  nor  emit  bills,  nor  borrow  money  on  the  credit 
of  the  United  States,  nor  appropriate  money,  nor 
agree  upon  the  number  of  vessels  of  war  to  be  built  or 
purchased,  or  the  number  of  land  or  sea  forces  to  be 
raised,  nor  appoint  a  commander-in-chief  of  the  army 
or  navy,  unless  nine  States  assent  to  the  same,  nor  shall 
a  question  on  any  other  point,  except  for  adjourning 
from  day  to  day,  be  determined,  unless  by  the  votes  of 
£.  majority  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  powei 
to  adjourn  to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any 
place  within  the  United  States,  so  that  no  period  of  ad 
^ournment  Le  for  a  longfr  duration  than  the  space  of 


Articles  of  Confederation.  259 

six  months,  and  shall  publish  the  journal  of  their  pio 
ceedings  monthly,  except  such  parts  thereof  relating  to 
treaties,  alliances,  or  military  operations  as  in  their 
judgment  require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of 
the  delegates  of  each  State,  on  any  question,  shall  be 
entered  on  the  journal  when  it  is  desired  by  any  dele- 
gate; and  the  delegates  of  a  State,  or  any  of  them,  at 
his  or  their  request,  shall  be  furnished  with  a  transcript 
of  the  said  journal  except  such  parts  as  are  above  ex- 
cepted,  to  lay  before  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States. 

ARTICLE  X. — The  Committee  of  the  States,  or  any 
nine  of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the 
recess  of  Congress,  such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  by  the  con- 
sent of  nine  States,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  think  ex- 
pedient to  vest  them  with ;  provided  that  no  power  be 
delegated  to  the  said  Committee,  for  the  exercise  of 
which,  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the  voice  of 
nine  States  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  as- 
Bumbled  is  requisite. 

ARTICLE  XL — Canada,  acceding  to  this  Confedera 
tion,  and  joining  in  the  measures  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  admitted  into,  and  entitled  to  all  the  advan- 
tages of  this  Union;  but  no  other  colony  shall  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  same,  unless  such  admission  be  agreed 
to  by  nine  States. 

ARTICLE  XII. — All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys 
borrowed,  and  debts  contracted  by  or  -under  the 
authority  of  Congress,  before  the  assemblibj  of  th* 


260  Appendix  A. 

United  States,  in  pursuance  of  the  present  Confedera 
tion,  shall  be  deemed  and  considered  as  a  charge 
against  the  United  States,  for  payment  and  satisfaction 
whereof  the  said  United  States  and  the  public  faith 
are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

ARTICLE  XIII. — Every  State  shdl  abide  by  the 
determinations  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  as 
sembled,  on  all  questions  which  by  this  Confederation 
are  submitted  to  them.  And  the  Articles  of  this  Con- 
federation shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  every  State 
and  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual ;  nor  shall  any  altera- 
tion at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in  any  of  them, 
unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  be  afterwards  confirmed  by  the 
Legislatures  of  every  State. 

AND  WHEREAS  it  hath  pleased  the  great  Governoi 
of  the  world  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  Legislatures 
we  respectively  represent  in  Congress  to  approve  of, 
and  to  authorize  us  to  ratify,  the  said  Articles  of  Con- 
federation and  perpetual  Union,  know  ye,  that  we,  the 
undersigned  delegates,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and 
authority  to  us  given  for  that  purpose,  do,  by  these 
presents,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of  our  respective 
constituents,  fully  and  entirely  ratify  and  confirm  each 
and  every  of  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and 
perpetual  Union,  and  all  and  singular  the  matters  and 
things  therein  contained.  And  we  do  further  sol 
emnly  plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respective 
constituents,  that  they  shall  abide  by  the  determinations 
)f  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all 


Articles  of  Confederation.  261 

questions  which  by  the  said  Confederation  are  sub- 
mitted to  them  ;  and  that  the  Articles  thereof  shall  be 
inviolably  observed  by  the  States  we  respectively  repre- 
sent, and  that  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual.  In  wit- 
ness whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  in  Con- 
gress. Done  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  ninth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1778,  and  in  the  third  year  of  the  Independence  of 
America. 


APPENDIX  B. 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

PREAMBLE.1 

WE  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form 
a  more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defense,  promote 
the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish 
this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I.     LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT. 

Section  I.     Congress  in  General? 
All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested 
in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist 
of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section  II.     House  of  Representatives. 
i.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed 
of  members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of 
the  several  States ;  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shal) 

1  Compare  the  Preamble  with  Confederation  Articles  I  and  IIL 
»  Compare  Article  I,  §§  I-VII  with  Confed.  Article  V. 
262 


The  Constitution.  263 

have  die  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not 
have  attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been 
seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who 
shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State 
in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  appci- 
tioned  among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included 
within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  num- 
bers, which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  serv- 
ice for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed, 
three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.     The  actual  enumera- 
tion shall  be   made  within   three  years  after  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United   States,  and 
within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten   years,  in  such 
manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.     The  number  of 
representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty 
thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  repre- 
sentative ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made, 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose 
three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and   Provi- 
dence Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six, 
New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania   eight,  Delaware  one 
Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South 
Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from 
any  State,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue 
writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 


264  Appendix  B. 

5.  The  House  :>f  Representatives  shall  choose  then 
speaker  and  other  officers,  and  shall  have  the  sol* 
power  of  impeachment. 

Section  III.     Senate. 

1.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  com- 
posed of  two  senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the 
Legislature  thereof  for  six  years,  and   each  senator 
shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  con- 
sequence of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided,  as 
equally  as  may  be,  into  three  classes.     The  seats  of  the 
senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  ex- 
piration of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the 
expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may  be 
chosen  every  second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen, 
by  resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the 
Legislature  of  any  State,  the  executive   thereof  may 
make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when 
elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice- President  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless 
they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  officers,  and  also  * 


The  Constitution  265 

president  pro  tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vici  Pres 
ident,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President 
of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  aL' 
impeachments.     When   sitting   for   that  purpose,  they 
shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.     When  the  President 
of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  chief  justice  shall  pie- 
side;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  case  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend 
farther  than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification 
to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit 
under  the  United  States ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall, 
nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial, 
iudgment,  and  punishment  according  to  law. 

Section  IV.     Both  Houses. 

1.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elec- 
tions  for  senators   and   representatives   shall  be  pre- 
scribed in  each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof;  but 
the  Congress  may  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter 
such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  place  of  choosing 
senators. 

2.  The   Congress   shall   assemble  at  least   once  in 
every  year,  and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in   December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a 
different  day. 

Section  V.     The  Houses  Separately. 
i.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections, 
returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  9 


266  Appendix  B. 

majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  busi 
ness ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to 
day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance 
of  absent  members,  in  such  manner  and  under  such 
penalties  as  each  house  may  pro/ide. 

2.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  pro- 
ceedings, punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior, 
and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  mem- 
ber. 

3.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceed- 
ings, and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  except- 
ing such  parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy ; 
and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house, 
on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those 
present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  house   during  the   session   of  Congress 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more 
than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in 
which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  VI.     Disabilities  of  Members. 

i.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a 
compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by 
law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 
They  shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  breach 
of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  at 
tendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and 
in  going  to  or  returning  from  the  same;  and  for  any 
speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  place. 


Tke  Constitution,  267 

2.  No  senator  or  representative  shdl,  during  the 
rime  for  which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any 
civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments 
whereof  shall  have  been  increased,  during  such  time; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the  I  nited 
States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his 
continuance  in  office. 

Section  VII.     Mode  of  Passing  Laws. 

1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  pro- 
pose or  concur  with  amendments,  as  on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  become 
a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States;  if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it;  but  if  not,  he 
shall   return   it,  with   his  objections,  to  that  house  in 
which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  ob- 
jections at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  re- 
consider it.     If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds 
of  that  hcruse  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house, 
oy  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  ap- 
proved bt  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a 
law.     But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses 
shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names 
of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  en- 
tered on  the  journal  of  each  house  respective  y.     If  any 
bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  teo 


268  Appendix  B. 

days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  pre- 
sented to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law  in  like  mannei 
as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  ad- 
journment prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not 
be  a  law. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  con 
currence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  adjourn- 
ment) shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States ;  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be 
approved  by  him,  or,  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall 
be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations 
Described  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Section  VIII.     Powers  granted  to  Congress  ^ 
The  Congress  shall  have  power : 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  ex 
cises,  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  de- 
fense and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States ;  but  all 
duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout 
the  United  States ; 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United 
States; 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and 
among  th*  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and 
uniform  laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout 
the  United  States ; 

»  Compare  §§  VIII  and  IX  with  Confed.  Art.  IX;  clause  i  of  §  VIII  wU| 
Coufed.  Art.  VIII;  and  clause  12  of  6  VIII  with  Confed.  Art.  VII. 


The  Constitution  269 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereo  and  of 
foreign  coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  meas- 
ures; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting 
the  securities  and  current  coin  of  the  United  States ; 

7.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads; 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  usefu 
arts,  by  securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and  in- 
ventors the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings 
and  discoveries; 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  tc  the  Supreme 
Court ; 

10.  To  define  and  punish  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  and  offenses  against  the  law  of  nations; 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  re- 
prisal, and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and 
water ; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropria- 
tion of  money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term 
than  two  years ; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy; 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regula 
tion  of  the  land  naval  forces ; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  exe- 
cute the  laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and 
repel  invasions; 

1 6.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disci- 
plining the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  their 
as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States; 
reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the  appointment  of 


270  Appendix  B. 

the  officers,  and   the  authority  of  training  the  militU 
according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress; 

17.  To   exercise   exclusive   legislation,  in    all    cases 
whatsoever,  over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles 
square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  States  and  the 
acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  to*  exercise  like  author- 
ity  over  all  places  purchased,  by  the   consent  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  foi 
the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards, 
and  other  needful  buildings ;  and 

1 8.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers, 
and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department 
or  office  thereof. 

/      Section  IX.     Powers  denied  to  the  United  States. 

1.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as 
any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  ad- 
mit shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight;  but  a 
tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not 
exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall 
not  be  suspended  unless  when,  in  case  of  rebellion  01 
invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex-post-facto  law,  shall  be 
passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  othei  direct  tax  shall  be  laid 


V 


The  Constitution.  271 

unless  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  here 
in  before  directed  to  be  taken. 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported 
from  any  State. 

6.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of 
commerce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  Su*e  ovel 
those  of  another;  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from 
one  State  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in 
another. 

7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but 
in  consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law;  and  a 
regular  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  ex- 
penditures of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time. 

8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  01 
trust  under  them  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Con- 
gress, accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title 
of  any  kind   whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  for- 
eign state. 

Section  X.     Powers  denied  to  the  States.1 

1.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or 
confederation;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal; 
coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  any  thing  but  gold 
and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts ;  pass  any 
bill  of  attainder,  ex-post-facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the 
obligation  cf  contracts;  or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Con 

»  Compare  Article  I,  §  X  with   Confed.  Art.  VI 


272  Appendix  B. 

gress,  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  01  exports 
except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing 
its  inspection  laws ;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties 
and  imposts  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports 
shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States, 
and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and 
control  of  the  Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress, 
lay  any  duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in 
time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact 
with  another  State  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage 
in  war  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent 
danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delays. 

ARTICLE  II.     EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT.' 
Section  I.     President  and  Vice- President. 

1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of  America.     He  shall  hold 
his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and,  together 
with  the  Vice- President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be 
elected  as  follows : 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislature  thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors, 
equal  to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  representa- 
tives to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress; 
but  no  senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding  an 
office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall 
be  appointed  an  elector. 

3.  [The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States. 

1  Compar*  Article  II  .vith    Cor  feel   Art.  X. 


The  Constitution.  273 

Hid  vote  by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at 
least  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with 
tnemselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  per- 
sons voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each  ; 
which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
ealed,  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  cer- 
tificates, and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The 
person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  electers  appointed;  and  if  there  be  more 
than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal 
number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for 
President;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then,  from 
the  five  highest  on  the  list,  the  said  House  shall  in  like 
manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the 
President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  repre- 
sentation from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum 
for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the 
States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case, 
after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  \>e  the 
Vice-President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or 
more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose 
from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-President.]  1 

1  Altered  by  the  Xllth  Amendment. 


2J4  Appendix  B. 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing 
the  electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their 
votes,  which   day  shall  be  the  same  throughout   the 
United  States. 

5.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent; neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office 
ifcho  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five 
years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the 
United  States. 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  of- 
fice, or  of  his   death,  resignation,  or  inability  to   dis- 
charge the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the 
same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice- President ;  and  the  Con- 
gress may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal, 
death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the   President 
and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then 
act  as  President ;  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly, 
until  the  disability  be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be 
elected. 

7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for 
his  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  in- 
creased nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he 
shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within 
that  period   any  other  emolument   from   the   United 
States,  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he 
shall  take  the  following  oath  or  affirmation : 

*'  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faith 


The  Constitution.  275 

fully  execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  pro- 
tect, and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Section  II.     Powers  of  the  President. 

1 .  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the 
arm}-  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia 
of  the  several  States  when  called  into  the  actual  serv- 
ice of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion 
in  writing  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  execu- 
tive departments  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  du- 
ties of  their  respective  offices ;  and  he  shall  have  power 
to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offenses  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two- 
thirds  of  the  senators  present  concur;  and  he  shall 
nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  shall  appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  min- 
isters and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appoint- 
ments are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for  and  which 
shall  be  established  by  law;  but  the  Congress  ma}  by 
law  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers  as 
they  think  proper  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts 
of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  va- 
cancies that  may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Sen- 
ate, by  granting  commissions,  which  shall  expire  at  thfl 
end  of  their  next  session. 


276  Appendix  B. 

(•  Secdon  III.  Duties  of  the  President. 
He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  in- 
formation of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  U 
their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  nec- 
essary and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occa- 
sions, convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them ;  and  io 
case  of  disagreement  between  them,  with  respect  to  the 
time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such 
time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  ambassa- 
dors and  other  public  ministers ;  he  shall  take  care  that 
the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission 
all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV.     Impeachment  of  the  President. 
The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers 
of  the  United  States  shall  be  removed  from  office  on 
impeachment  for  and  conviction  of  treason,  bribery,  or 
other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III.    JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT.' 

Section  I.  United  States  Courts. 
The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior 
courts  as  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and 
establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  in- 
ferior courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  be- 
havior ;  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  serv- 
ices a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished 
during  their  continuance  in  office. 

1  The  Confederacy  had  no  such  pro'ision  as  Article  III  of  the  Constitution 
except  the  attempt  to  make  a  Congressional  Court  in  Cor.fed.  Art  IX. 


The  Constitution.  277 

Section  II.     Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  Courts. 

1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in  law 
and  equity  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  cf 
the  United  States,  and  treaties  made  or  which  shall  bf 
made,  under  their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  am- 
bassadors, other  public  ministers,  and  consuls;  to  all 
cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction ;  to  con- 
troversies to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party; 
to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States ;  between 
a  State  and  citizens  of  another  State;  between  citizens 
of  different  States ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  State 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States ;  and  be- 
tween a  State,  or   the   citizens   thereof,   and  foreign 
states,  citizens,  or  subjects.1 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public 
ministers,  and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall 
be  a  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  original  ju- 
risdiction.    In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the 
Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as 
to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions  and  under  such 
regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeach- 
ment, shall  be  by  jury ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in 

he  State  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the 
trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congresi 
may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  HI.     Treason. 
i.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist 

1  Altered  by  Xlth  Amendment 


278  Appendix  B. 

oniy  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  tt 
their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  No  pen 
son  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testi 
mony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  oc 
confession  in  open  court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  thfl 
punishment  of  treason ;  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall 
work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture,  except  during 
the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV.    THE  STATES  AND  THE  FEDERAL  GOV- 


ERNMENT.1 

Section  I.     State  Records. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to 
the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of 
every  other  State.  And  the  Congress  may,  by  general 
laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records, 
and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  II.     Privileges  of  Citizens,  etc. 

1.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all 
privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens   in   the   several 
States. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  fel- 
or 7,  or  other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice  and  t* 
found  in  another  State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  execu 
tive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  de- 
livered up,  tc  be  removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdio 
tion  of  the  crime. 

•  Compare  Article  IV  with  Confed.  Art  IV. 


The  Constitution.  279 

3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State 
under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  ic 
consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis- 
charged from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  deliv- 
ered up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  o 
labor  may  be  due. 

Section  III.     New  States  and  Territories.^ 

1.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into 
this  Union ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State;  nor  any  State 
be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or 
parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures 
of  the  States  concerned,  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting,  the 
territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United 
States;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so 
construed  as   to   prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United 
States  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  IV.     Guarantee  to  the  States. 

The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in 
vhis  Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall 
protect  each  of  them  against  invasion;  and,  on  appli- 
cation of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the 
Legislature  cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  vio- 
lence. 


1  Compare  Article  IV,  {HI  with  Confed    A.rt.  XL 


280  Appendix  B. 

ARTICLE  V.  POWER  OF  AMENDMENT^ 
The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Housei 
shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to 
this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of  the  Legis- 
latures of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a 
convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either 
case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  part 
of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures 
of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions 
in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode 
of  ratification  maybe  proposed  by  Congress;  provided 
that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any 
manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth 
section  of  the  first  Article ;  and  that  no  State,  without 
its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the 
Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI.     PUBLIC  DEBT,  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  CON- 
STITUTION, OATH  OF  OFFICE,  RELIGIOUS  TEST.* 

1.  All  debts  contracted  and   engagements  entered 
into  before  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution  shall  be 
as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this  Constitu- 
tion as  undsr  the  Confederation. 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  Unite! 
States  which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and 
all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the 

1  Compir?  Article  V  with  Confed.  Art.  XIII  (last  sentence). 
*  Compare  Article  V  I,  clause  i,  with  Confed.  Art.  XII ;  and  clauses  a  VM 
j  with  Confer?   Art  XIII  and  addendum,  "And  whereas,"  etc. 


The  Constitution.  281 

authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme 
"raw  of  the  land ;  and  the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be 
bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws 
of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  senators  and  representatives  before-men- 
tioned, and  the  members  of  the  several  State  Legisla 
tures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the 
United  Str.tes  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound 
by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution ; 
but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualifi- 
cation to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United 
States. 

ARTICLE  VII.     RATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

The  ratifications  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States 
shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Consti- 
tution between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  Convention,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of 
the  States  present,  the  seventeenth  day  of  September, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hir^red 
and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the  Independence  oi  die 
United  States  of  America  the  twelfth. 


AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish 
ment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  there 
ti :  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  pres? 


282  Appendix  b. 

or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  ana 
to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II. 

A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  se- 
curity of  a  free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and 
bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in 
any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in 
time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable 
searches  and  seizures  shall  not  be  violated,  and  no 
warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported 
by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

\         ARTICLE  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  01 
otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or 
indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in 
the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  act 
iva  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger;  nor  shal 
any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offense  to  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ;  nor  shall  be  compelled, 
in  any  criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness  against  himself  j 
nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due 


The  Constitution.  283 

process  of  law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  foi 
public  use  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy 
he  fight  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial 
jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall 
have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of 
the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be  con- 
fronted with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  com- 
pulsory process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favoi ; 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  con- 
troversy shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by 
jury  shall  be  preserved ;  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury 
shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  com- 
mon law. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fin^s  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishment  in 
flicted. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  re> 
tained  by  the  people. 


284  Appendix  B. 

ARTICLE  X.1 

The  powers  noi  granted  to  the  United  Slates  by  eh« 
Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  re- 
served to  the  States  respectively  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XL2 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be 
construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  com- 
menced or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States 
by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects 
of  any  foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  XII.3 

i.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States, 
and  vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President, 
one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the 
same  State  with  themselves ;  they  shall  name  in  their 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they 
shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as 
President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each, 
which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States, 
directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate;  the  President 

1  Compare  the  Xth  Amendment  with  Confed.  Art.  II.  The  first  ten 
Aresadments  were  proposed  by  Congress,  September  25th,  1789,  and  declarea 
in  fores,  December  isth,  1791. 

*  Proposed  by  Congress   M?jch   5th,  1794,  and  declared  in  force  January 
8th,  1798. 

*  Proposed  by  Congress  December  iztb,  1803,  and  declared  in  forcr  Septeo 
In  ?;th,  1804. 


The  Constitution.  285 

of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and 
House  >f  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and 
the  vote*  shall  then  be  counted ;  the  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  ol  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest 
numbers,  hot  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted 
for  as  Pre-sident,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
choose  immediately  by  ballot  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one 
vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  mem- 
ber or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a 
President,  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve 
upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  fol- 
lowing, then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President, 
as  in  the  case  of  death  or  other  constitutional  disability 
of  the  President. 

2.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
as  Vice-President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from 
the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall 
choose  the  Vice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose 
shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  sen- 
ators, and  a  majority  cf  the  whole  number  shall  be  nec- 
essary to  a  choice. 


286  Appendix  B. 

3.  But  no  person  constitutionally  r  eligible  to  thi 
office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice- Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIII.1 

1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
s  a  punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have 

oeen   duly  convicted,  shall   exist  within    the   United 
States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article 
by  appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE  XIV.2 

1.  All   persons   born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they 
reside.     No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which 
shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  per- 
son of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of 
law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  States  according  to  their  respective  numbers, 
Counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  States, 

xcluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  tc 
vote  at  any  elec  ion  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  Presi- 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  February  ist,  1865,  and  declared  in  force  Decent 
bei  1 8th,  1865. 

1  Proposed  by  Congres*  June  i6th,  -866,  and  declared  in  force  July  281)1 
1868, 


The  Constitution.  287 

dent  and  Vice- President  of  the  United  States,  represent- 
atives in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers 
of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature  thereof 
is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  members  of  such  State,  be- 
ing twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participatioa 
in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation 
therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the 
number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 
number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such 
State. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in 
Congress,  or  elector  of  President  and  Vice- President,  or 
holding  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  United 
States,  or   under  any  State,  who,  having  previously 
taken  an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  offi- 
cer of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State 
Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any 
State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against 
the  same,  or  given  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies 
thereof.     But  Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of 
each  House,  reroove  such  disability. 

4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the   United 
States,  authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for 
payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services  in  sup- 
pressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  ques 
tioned.     But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State 
shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in 
aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  State% 


288  Appendix  B. 

or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any 

but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  helci 

illegal  and  void. 

5.  Th?  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  ap- 
propriate legislation  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XV.1 

1 .  The  right  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  td 
vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United 
States  or  any  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previ 
ous  condition  of  servitude. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  the 
provisions  of  this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  February  a6th,  1869,  and  declared  in  force  March 
30th,  1870. 


Admission  of  the  States. 


289 


APPENDIX  C. 
ADMISSION  OF  THE  STATES.1 


I.  Delaware,4  Dec.  7,  1787. 
a.  Pennsylvania,*  Dec.  12, 
1787. 

3.  New  Jersey,2  Dec.  18,  1787. 

4.  Georgia,2  Jan.  2,  1788. 

5.  Connecticut,*  Jan.  9,  1788. 

6.  Massachusetts,8  Feb.  7, 

1788. 

7.  Maryland,*  April  28,  1788. 

8.  South  Carolina,*  May  23, 

1788. 

9.  New  Hampshire,8  June  21, 

1788. 

10.  Virginia,*  June  26,  1788. 

11.  New  York,2  July  26,  1788. 

12.  North  Carolina,8  Nov.  21, 

1789. 

13.  Rhode  Island,8  May  29, 

1790. 

14.  Kentucky,  June  I,  1792. 
f5.  Vermont,  March  4,  1791. 
16.  Tennessee,  June  I,  1796. 
»7.  Ohio,  Nov.  29,  1802. 


18.  Louisiana,  April  jo,  1813. 

19.  Indiana,  Dec.  n,  1816. 

20.  Mississippi,  Dec.  10,  1817 

21.  Illinois,  Dec.  3,  1818. 

22.  Alabama,  Dec.  14,  1819. 

23.  Maine,  March  15,  1820. 

24.  Missouri,  Aug.  10,  1821. 

25.  Arkansas,  June  15,  18367 

26.  Michigan,  Jan.  26,  1837. 

27.  Florida,  March  3,  1845. 

28.  Texas,  Dec.  29,  1845. 

29.  Iowa,  Dec.  28,  1846. 

30.  Wisconsin,  May  29,  1848. 

31.  California,  Sept.  9,  1850. 

32.  Minnesota,  May  II,  1858. 

33.  Oregon,  Feb.  14,  1859. 

34.  Kansas,  Jan.  29,  1861. 

35.  West  Virginia,  June  19, 

1863. 

36.  Nevada,  Oct.  31,  1864. 

37.  Nebraska,  March  I,  1867. 

38.  Colorado,  Aug.  I,  1876. 


1  The  dates  given,  after  the  first  thirteen  States,  are  those  upon  which  th< 

Emissions  took  effect. 
'  Ratified  the  Constitution  and  became  States. 


Appmdix  D. 


00 


jo 


•& 


I  ~  .H  01 


Jg&t&UJgJlB     o 


Votes  for  President,  1789-1876.          291 


^                 tA 

0                               V 

.f        gjf   ^      1 

Jl     *     .-J-3     B|l    «|  . 
S^^  fc"|      £  «-s  £-0  Js     *^>  * 
"O       »  W  9      "^wiuiWW       eJVn      J 

^    4J    rt           rt         ^    rt    rt         "Tl           ^*  1               4J  I 

cE?Bg>      afia§l5&78&fl 

£c                 ^SS^S.SigxEg-c 

>2>O  H  <!         >^H  H  <  cfl  O  O  ^^»O  -2 

c         •*           c 

-Mi* 

o      9          u 
.S      2         .S 
:  ^    Af  g  ^ 

e    .       vug. 

O  U        *~>  3   cS  U   ^~ 

S  »     g«3  *  5* 

rC^                2      C<^'~1 

As    ss^sj 

,cnd     fS^AuA 

n  of  1800  ;  sre  page  49 

•2 

*rf                ^.c'^c 

tfl     y                                     t/)     y     t/3     y 

f   _ 

The  disputed  elec 

^      O    -»       v                             ^    r^      ^   & 

is.  "a. 

• 

4>S****                     o^iU^ 

s^>    s-  - 

»Q   O<                        -o   P-'O   ^" 

£i£           h^iSa 

* 

vO                                                                             «O 

\rt                                                                              C 
&>                                                                      & 

t*» 

Appendix  D. 


<J 

1 

1 

O 

II  JS 

c5! 

& 
2 
g 

c  sjj 

y 

sir&i 

^*^ 

SJO  ">  t/i  </> 

^  11  r-j  —  1) 

^W«Sd 

1 

ii 

Of*! 

0  C<^  j:  g 

cS^22A 

rS      " 

34, 

.^      SrS-§ 

H    rf 

N  VO  t~»  « 

OO    OMi 

fOTj-                             <4 

pUOJOSia 

VO    « 

2  "* 

M  OO 

oo  to 

|| 

a 

V 

c    QJ                          ^ 

^5      S  ^  5 

N  HI          O    o  *-* 

tS  «      ^  c  s 

="  0                u" 

^  .§  .a  55    2  .         s 

i 

*^         rt  g  S 

a      JO  c       o  a 

&i 

rtO      ^  <uO 

u     S  s  s     ^  >4 

s 

t>        i)  ^  l>        S  S                 !> 

h 

o  rf       p  o  a 

rq                             C  v5 

J2JZ         5   u^3 

H    CJ                 H    ^ 

HU      4.O  U 

t—  ,Q          i—  ,p< 

1 

3  "g     3*2 

3  .2           S  .2 

32         31J 
s  S         3  5 

D--d         &i      T3 

D    jj           I)            OJ 

c^-a          CL^3 

O    y                 «    JJ 

*S3JO^   *^33|3 

o          ^o 

'S           S 

1B*°X 

M                         « 

M                        N 

Votes  for  President,  1789-  1876.          293 


0030    tf«   w 


jc^  H|frf  §  ^  ^s  i 

-*•  °  S  b  -^  _e  o  rt  3  53  y  .s  73  £  >:  ^      ^ 

p«t;  c  rt  2  —  ^ s "d  "-  -^  s§  a'3  "  c5  «  .3 

STJ'^^H^  ^5^"^^  rt3G  SlUpob* 

.y3"o.i!  ^rt^C-1"  "o--5  'ro^'u? 


a  o 


.    .CJ 


vo  ON  ior-»  w  *» 


•§ 

a, 


294 


Appendix  D, 


TfCO  1-1     1-1  O    ""> 


-'j  •        cS 

C    C  ^3 


<u     . 
Oh- 


J3     -i     « 

5  £  2 


5  j 

3  i 
a  5 

o> 

B-i 


8     5 


•S3JEJS 


lOt>.  M   IH   1-1 


.,S    4   * 


v  a>.»*  *-*   r~  •*-* 

6c  e  "S  ^  l- 

us  o  g  BJ 

rt  M   rt  «     i  *a 

>— >HH  i— >  N  ii-J  i* 


2 

1.* 

Ig 


Whig, 
Democr 
Free  Soi 


Votes  for  President,  1789-1876.          295 


«' 

S^"00 

O   N   N   ON 
OO  t»  n  CO 

•"    NOO 

~&$ 

vO  t-" 

oo  tj- 

N 

V 

S 

3 

M 

hfl     T* 

S    0 

•»      f* 

M     ^ 

t?    ^     C~ 

rs  o  c" 

S       c"  « 

%U 

S     U" 

.  G   v> 
C   >   S 

^J 

3Q1 
£   •  ° 

OS      -  O    i- 
KD    71    JJ 
C    G    > 

-  §-s« 

Is-^s 

S^B 

S| 

*^ 

^1 

0    0   rt 

-^rv 

'     £  S  o 

cJ  s1"1* 

C   o.^.   rt 
C    CJ  <*    •£. 
rt    g     -T3 

-0    o 

C    CJ 

^ 

g^^ 

^  ^  O 

>-^«J 

J-4   |         Hi   'T^ 

<0 

wfe 

E  M  H°-, 

'f  N 

rf  ^-00 

O    N    N    ON 

N    «    n 

rj-  O    ro 

vO 

!/•)  ^" 

OO   t-»  11    CO 

"•    NOO 

•-00  -N 

00 

«H      11 

" 

1 

ON  •*•  r}- 

N   ror-*« 

t^u-> 

«  to 

O   O\X> 

1      t~»  t--.  tt- 

VO  vO    fO 

u^vO  "TOO 

VO    N 

t  -  11 

Tj-UI-l 

i  ts  m 

to^  «  10 

O  t^» 

O  vO 

O    O   •* 

11  \O  vO 

00    w    •* 

VO   "T  LD  ON 

vO  OO 

U^  ON 

t"**  ^"  ON 

QOO  "I 

VO   to  >i 

OO    COOO 

00^  X)   four 

N  OO 
O    n 

3icT 

t^N" 

N 

O\«   n 

l^«  N  to 

H     M 

N   ton 
N         "• 

vO  00   to 

to 

Franklin  Pierce, 
Winfield  Scott, 
John  P.  Hale, 

James  Buchanan, 
John  C.  Fremont, 
Millard  Fillmore, 

Abraham  Lincoln, 
J.  C.  Breckinridge, 
S.  A.  Douglas, 
John  Bell, 

Abraham  Lincoln, 
Geo.  B.  McClellan, 
Vacancies,1 

Ulysses  S.  Grant, 
Horatio  Seymour, 
Vacancies,* 

S3  vO 

t/l     rt     t/2 

5su 

^ 

d. 

>, 

• 

19 

E 

c 

2 

o 

. 

,        o 

>,-  f.  (.0 

y       o 

o  c 

c  y 

3    O 

p      1    O 

•13        g 

ttf  u  S 

O   rs    ri     . 

S'rt 

II 

0  *T3   "rt 

|^ 

&3  S 

|  g_5 

1~      1*      l->    4-1 

•S  o  o  c 

U  s  o 

II 

1 

O.B 

0.6  1 

&£ 

fi«l 

<U    <L> 

&q 

U     OJ 

ftiQ 

0 

VO 

to 

rt- 

J-M 

VO 

N 

N 

to 

to 

to 

to 

_ 

„ 

fO 

vO 

^ 

^ 

fO 

ro 

to 

to 

(4 

vO 

Q 

«*• 

oo 

N 

VO 

*> 

00 

OO 

06 

oo 

oo 

296 


Appendix  D. 


-•"c  <-uT  -43".- 

Er  5 "=  "£  £  5-  JS         r?Tg    .5      <  s  7: 


<    •  Js 


O  "^  t— ' 

ON  O  00 


t-    O    II 

Isl., 


uj     •    in 

o  c/5  D  r; 
£    .  S  « 

S  >  <«  ,3 

" 


•i:  o  <u 

s.s-5 

<jj     D  •w' 


•«ajoA  •j'sra 

VD 
ro 

vo 

••ajTlg  jo  -oft 

oo 

oo 

•*»A 

1 

OO 

Population  of  the  Sections t  1790-1860    297 


APPENDIX  E. 
POPULATION  OF  THE  SECTIONS,  1790-1860. 


Year. 

Free  States. 

Slave  States. 

1790 

i,968>453 

i>96l>374 

l8oO 

2,684,616 

2,621,316 

1810 

3.758>910 

3,480,902 

1820 

5.J52»372 

4,485,819 

1830 

7,006,399 

5,848,312 

1840 

9>733>922 

7,334,433 

1850 

i3>599>488 

9>663»997 

1860 

19,128,418 

i2,3i5»37« 

298 


Appendix  F. 


APPENDIX  F. 

CONGRESSIONAL  REPRESENTATION  OF  THE  SECTION! 
1790-1860. 


Year 

SENATE 

HOUSE. 

Free  States. 

Slave  States. 

Free  States. 

Slave  State*. 

1790 

14 

12 

35 

3° 

1792 

16 

14 

57 

48 

1796 

16 

16 

57 

49 

1800 

16 

16 

57 

49 

1804 

18 

16 

77 

65 

1808 

18 

16 

77 

65 

1812 

18 

18 

103 

79 

1816 

20 

18 

104 

79 

1820 

24 

24 

I05 

82 

1824 

24 

24 

123 

9° 

1828 

24 

24 

123 

90 

1832 

24 

24 

141 

99 

1836 

26 

26 

142 

100 

1840 

26 

26 

142 

IOO 

1844 

26 

26 

'35 

98 

1848 

3° 

3° 

139 

91 

1852 

32 

3° 

144 

90 

i8t;6 

32 

3° 

144 

90 

1860 

36 

3° 

'47 

90 

o  find  the  Electoral  Votes,  add  together  the  number  of  Sen:  tori  zn4 
S  »pr«aentatives. 


The  Sections  in   1870-1880. 


299 


APPENDIX  G. 
THE  SECTIONS  IN  1870. 


Sections. 

Population 
in  1870. 

V 

"n 

\ 

V. 

s 
1 

92 
98 

68 

28 

7 

Elect  Vote*.] 

THE  SOUTH  :  (Ala.,  Ark.  ,  Fla.,  Ga.,  Ky., 
La.,  Md.,  Miss.,  N.  C.,  S.  C.,  Tenn., 
Tex.,  Va.,  W.  V.), 
THE  NORTH-WEST:  (111.,  la.,  Ind.,  Ks., 
Mich.,  Minn.,  Mo.,  Neb.,  O.,  Wis.), 

12,032,225 
12,702,299 
8,941,625 

3.187,924 
889,789 

28 
20 

8 

12 

8 
76 

120 

u  8 
76 

40 
15 

THE  MIDDLE  STATES:  (Del.,  N.  J.,  N. 
Y.,  Penn.), 
NEW   ENGLAND  :    (Conn.,   Mass.,   Me., 
N.  H.,  R.  I.,  Vt.), 
THE  PACIFIC:  (Cal.,  Col.,  Nev.,  Or.), 

Total, 

38,925,598 

293 

369 

[jy  The  total  population  includes  territories  and  Indians. 

THE  SECTIONS  IN  1880. 


1 

Sections. 

Population 

rt 

d 

1 

in  1880. 

•j 
(f. 

0 

K 

| 

THE  SOUTH, 

16,188,757 

28 

92 

1  20 

THE  NORTH-WEST, 

17,229,810   20 

98  n8 

THE  MIDDLE  STATES, 

10,644,233     8 

68 

76 

NEW  ENGLAND?* 

4,010,438    12 

28 

40 

THE  PACIFIC, 

1,296,367 

8 

7 

15 

Total, 

50,152,866 

76293 

369 

he  total  population  includes  Territories  and  Indians.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1881,  an  Apportionment  Act  is  not  yet  passed,  so  that  Representatives 
and  Electoral  Votes  remain  as  in  1870-80. 


APPENDIX  H. 

CABINET  OFFICERS  OF  THE  ADMINISTRATIONS. 
I.  AND  II.;  1789-1797  (page  18). 

Secretary  of  State,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Virginia,  Septembei 
26th,  1789;  Edmund  Randolph,  Virginia,  January  2d,  1794; 
Timothy  Pickering,  Pennsylvania,  December  roth,  1795.  Sec- 
retary of  Treasury,  Alexander  Hamilton,  New  York,  Septem- 
ber nth,  1789;  Oliver  Wolcott,  Connecticut,  February  ad, 
1795.  Secretary  of  War,  Henry  Knox,  Massachusetts,  Sep- 
tember 1 2th,  1789;  Timothy  Pickering,  Pennsylvania,  January 
2d,  1795 ;  James  McHenry,  Maryland,  January  27th,  1796. 
Attorney- General,  Edmund  Randolph,  Virginia,  September 
26th,  1789;  William  Bradford,  Pennsylvania,  January  27th, 
1794;  Charles  Lee,  Virginia,  December  loth,  1795.  Post- 
master-General,1 Samuel  Osgood,  Massachusetts,  September 
26th,  1789;  Timothy  Pickering,  Pennsylvania,  August  I2th, 
1791  ;  Joseph  Habersham,  Georgia,  February  25th,  1795. 

III.;   1797-1801  (page  41). 

Secretary  of  State,  Timothy  Pickering,  continued ;  John 
Marshall.  Virginia,  May  I3th,  1800.  Secretary  of  Treasury, 
Oliver  Wolcott,  continued ;  Samuel  Dexter,  Massachusetts, 


1  Not  a  Cabinet  officer,  but  a  subordinate  of  the  Treasury  Department  until 
1829. 


Cabinet  Officers  of  the  Administrations,    301 

January  ist,  1801.  Secretary  of  War,  James  McHenry, 
continued;  Samuel  Dexter,  Massachusetts,  May  I3th,  1800; 
Roger  Griswold,  Connecticut,  February  36,  1801.  Secretary 
of  Navy,1  George  Cabot,  Massachusetts,  May  3d,  1798;  Ben- 
jamin Stoddert,  Maryland,  May  2ist,  1798.  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, Charles  Lee,  continued ;  Theophilus  Parsons,  Massachu- 
setts, February  2Oth,  1801.  Postmaster-General,  Joseph 
Habersham,  continued. 

IV.  AND  V.;  1801-1809  (page  52). 

Secretary  of  State,  James  Madison,  Virginia,  March  5th, 
1801.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  Samuel  Dexter,  continued; 
Albert  Gallatin,  Pennsylvania,  May  I4th,  1801.  Secretary 
of  War,  Henry  Dearborn,  Massachusetts,  March  5th,  1801. 
Secretary  of  Navy,  Benjamin  Stoddert,  continued ;  Robert 
Smith,  Maryland,  July  I5th,  1801 ;  Jacob  Crowninshield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, May  3d,  1805.  Attorney-General,  Levi  Lincoln, 
Massachusetts,  March  5th,  1801  ;  Robert  Smith,  Maryland, 
March  3d,  1805  ;  John  Breckinridge,  Kentucky,  August  7th, 
1805  ;  Caesar  A.  Rodney,  Pennsylvania,  January  2Oth,  1807. 
Postmaster-General,  Joseph  Habersham,  continued  ;  Gid- 
eon Granger,  Connecticut,  November  28th,  1801. 

VI.  AND  VII.;  1809-1817  (page  69). 

Secretary  of  State,  Robert  Smith,  Maryland,  March  6th, 
1809;  James  Monroe,  Virginia,  April  2d,  1811.  Secretary 
of  Treasury,  Albert  Gallatin,  continued  ;  George  W.  Camp- 
bell, Tennessee,  February  gth,  1814;  A.  J.  Dallas,  Pennsyl- 

1  Naval  affairs  were  under  the  control  of  the  Secretary  of  War  until  a  sepa- 
rate Navy  Department  was  organized  by  Act  of  April  soth,  1798.  The  Acts 
organizing  the  other  Departments  were  of  the  following  dates  :  State,  Sep- 
tember i5th,  1789  ;  Treasury,  September  ad.  1789  :  War,  August  7th,  1789. 
The  Attorney-General's  duties  were  regulated  by  the  Judiciary  Act  of  Sep- 
tember 24th,  1789. 


3O2  American  Politics. 

vania,  October  6th,  1814 ;  William  H.  Crawford,  Georgia, 
October  22d,  1816.  Secretary  of  War,  William  Eustis, 
Massachusetts,  March  7th,  1809;  John  Armstrong,  New  York, 
January  I3th,  1813;  James  Monroe,  Virginia,  September  27th, 
1814;  William  H.  Crawford,  Georgia,  August  ist,  1815. 
Secretary  of  Navy,  Paul  Hamilton,  South  Carolina,  March 
7th,  1809;  William  Jones,  Pennsylvania,  January  i2th,  1813; 
B.  W.  Crowninshield,  Massachusetts,  December  igth,  1814. 
Attorney-General,  C.  A.  Rodney,  continued  ;  William  Pinck- 
ney,  Maryland,  December  nth,  1811  ;  Richard  Rush,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  roth,  1814.  Postmaster-General,  Gideon 
Granger,  continued;  Return  J.  Meigs,  Ohio,  March  I7th,  1814. 

VIII.  AND  IX  ;   1817-1825  (page  83). 

Secretary  of  State,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Massachusetts, 
March  5th,  1817.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  William  H.  Craw- 
ford, continued.  Secretary  of  War,  George  Graham,  Vir- 
ginia, April  7th,  1817  ;  John  C.  Calhoun,  South  Carolina,  Oc- 
tober 8th,  1817.  Secretary  of  Navy,  B.  W.  Crowninshield, 
continued  ;  Smith  Thompson,  New  York,  November  gth,  1818  ; 
John  Rogers,  Massachusetts,  September  ist,  1823  ;  Samuel  L. 
Southard,  New  Jersey,  September  i6th,  1823.  Attorney- 
General,  Richard  Rush,  continued  ;  William  Wirt,  Virginia, 
November  I3th,  1817.  Postmaster-General,  R.  J.  Meigs, 
continued;  John  McLean,  Ohio,  June  26th,  1823. 

X.;    1825-1829  (page  96). 

Secretary  of  State,  Henry  Clay,  Kentucky,  March  7th, 
1825.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  Richard  Rush,  Pennsylvania, 
March  7th,  1825.  Secretary  of  War,  James  Barbour,  Vir- 
ginia, March  7th,  1825;  Peter  B.  Porter,  New  York,  May 
26th,  1828.  Secretary  of  Navy,  S.  L.  Southard,  continued. 
Attorney-General,  William  Wirt,  continued.  Postmaster- 
General,  John  McLean,  continued. 


Cabinet  Officers  of  the  Administrations.    303 

XI.  AND  XII.;  1829-1837  (page  102). 

Secretary  of  State,  Martin  Van  Buren,  New  York,  March 
6th,  1829;  Edward  Livingston,  Louisiana,  May  24th,  1831; 
Louis  McLane,  Delaware,  May  29th,  1833;  John  Forsyth, 
Georgia,  June  27th,  1834.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  Samuel 
D.  Ingham,  Pennsylvania,  March  6th,  1829  ;  Louis  McLnne, 
Delaware,  August  8th,  1831  ;  William  J.  Duane,  Pennsylvania, 
May  29th,  1833  ;  Roger  B.  Taney,  Maryland,  September  23d, 
1833 ;  Levi  Woodbury,  New  Hampshire,  June  27th,  1834. 
Secretary  of  War,  John  H.  Eaton,  Tennessee,  March  gth, 
1829;  Lewis  Cass,  Michigan,  August  ist,  1831  ;  Benjamin  F. 
Butler,  New  York,  March  3d,  1837.  Secretary  of  Navy. 
John  Branch,  North  Carolina,  March  gth,  1829;  Levi  Wood- 
bury,  New  Hampshire,  May  23d,  1831  ;  Mahlon  Dickerson, 
New  Jersey,  June  3Oth,  1834.  Attorney-General,  John  M. 
Berrien,  Georgia,  March  gth,  1829  ;  Roger  B.  Taney,  Maryland, 
July  20111,1831 ;  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  New  York,  November  iSth, 
1833.  Postmaster- General,  William  T.  Barry,  Kentucky, 
March  gth,  1829;  Amos  Kendall,  Kentucky,  May  ist,  1835. 

XIII.;    1837-1841    (page   125). 

Secretary  of  State,  John  Forsyth,  continued.  Secretary 
of  Treasury,  Levi  Woodbury,  continued.  Secretary  of  War, 
Joel  R.  Poinsett,  South  Carolina,  March  7th,  1837.  Secretary 
of  Navy,  Mahlon  Dickerson,  continued ;  James  K.  Paulding, 
New  York,  June  25th,  1838.  Attorney-General,  Benjamin 
K.  Butler,  continued;  Felix  Grundy,  Tennessee,  July  5th, 
1838;  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  Pennsylvania,  January  nth,  1840. 
Postmaster-General,  Amos  Kendall,  continued;  John  M. 
Niles,  Connecticut,  May  igth,  1840. 

XIV.;  1841-1845  (page  132). 

Secretary  of  State,  Daniel  Webster,  Massachusetts,  March 
5th,  1841  ;  Hugh  S.  Legare,  South  Carolina,  May  pth,  1843  ; 


304  American  Politics. 

A.  P.  Upshur,  Virginia,  July  24th,  1843  ;  John  C.  Calhoun, 
South  Carolina,  March  6th,  1844.  Secretary  of  Treasury, 
Thomas  Ewing,  Ohio,  March  5th,  1841 ;  Walter  Forward, 
Pennsylvania,  September  i3th,  1841  ;  John  C.  Spencer,  New 
York,  March  3d,  1843  '•>  George  M.  Bibb,  Kentucky,  June 
ijth,  1844.  Secretary  of  War,  John  Bell,  Tennessee,  March 
5th,  1841  ;  John  McLean,  Ohio,  September  I3th,  1841  ;  John 
C.  Spencer,  New  York,  October  I2th,  1841 ;  James  M.  Porter, 
Pennsylvania,  March  8th,  1843  ;  William  Wilkins,  Pennsylva- 
nia, February  i5th,  1844.  Secretary  of  Navy,  G.  E.  Badger, 
North  Carolina,  March  5th,  1841  ;  A.  P.  Upshur,  Virginia, 
September  I3th,  1841  ;  David  Henshaw,  Massachusetts,  July 
24th,  1843;  T.  W.  Gilmer,  Virginia,  February  I5th,  1844; 
John  Y.  Mason,  Virginia,  March  I4th,  1844.  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, John  J.  Crittenden,  Kentucky,  March  5th,  1841  ;  Hugh 
S.  Legare,  South  Carolina,  September  13th,  1841  ;  John  Nel- 
son, Maryland,  July  ist,  1843.  Postmaster-General,  Fran- 
cis Granger,  New  York,  March  6th,  1841  ;  Charles  A.  Wick- 
liffe,  Kentucky,  September  i3th,  1841. 

XV.;   1845-1849  (page  141). 

Secretary  of  State,  James  Buchanan,  Pennsylvania,  March 
6th,  1845.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  Robert  J.  Walker,  Mis- 
sissippi, March  6th,  1845.  Secretary  of  War,  William  L. 
Marcy,  New  York,  March  6th,  1845.  Secretary  of  Navy, 
George  Bancroft,  Massachusetts,  March  loth,  1845  ;  John  Y. 
Mason,  Virginia,  September  gth,  1846.  Attorney-General, 
John  Y.  Mason,  Virginia,  March  5th,  1845  ;  Nathan  Clifford, 
Maine,  October  ijth,  1846.  Postmaster-General,  Cave 
Johnson,  Tennessee,  March  6th,  1845. 

XVI.;  1849-1853  (page  151). 

Secretary  of  State,  John  M.  Clayton,  Delaware,  March 
7th,  1849;  Daniel  Webster,  Massachusetts,  July  22d,  1850; 


Cabinet  Officers  of  the  Administrations.     305 

Edward  Everett,  Massachusetts,  December  6th,  1852.  Secre- 
tary of  Treasury,  W.  M.  Meredith,  Pennsylvania,  March  8th, 
1849;  Thomas  Corwin,  Ohio,  July  23d,  1850.  Secretary  of 
War,  George  W.  Crawford,  Georgia,  March  8th,  1849  ;  Win- 
field  Scott  (ad  interim],  July  23d,  1850  ;  Charles  M.  Conrad, 
Louisiana,  August  I5th,  1850.  Secretary  of  Navy,  William 
B.  Preston,  Virginia,  March  8th,  1849;  William  A.  Graham, 
North  Carolina,  July  22d,  1850 ;  J.  P.  Kennedy,  Maryland, 
July  22d,  1852.  Secretary  of  Interior,1  Thomas  H.  Ewing, 
Ohio,  March  8th,  1849  ;  A.  H.  H.  Stuart,  Virginia,  September 
12th,  1850.  Attorney-General,  Reverdy  Johnson,  Maryland, 
March  8th,  1849;  J°^n  J-  Crittenden,  Kentucky,  July  22d, 
1850.  Postmaster-General,  Jacob  Collamer,  Vermont, 
March  8th,  1849;  Nathan  K.  Hall,  New  York,  July  23d, 
1850;  S.  D.  Hubbard,  Connecticut,  August  3ist,  1852. 

XVII.;   1853-1857  (page  158). 

Secretary  of  State,  William  L.  Marcy,  New  York,  March 
7th,  1853.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  James  Guthrie,  Ken- 
tucky, March  yth,  1853.  Secretary  of  War,  Jefferson  Davis, 
Mississippi,  March  yth,  1853.  Secretary  of  Navy,  James  C. 
Dobbin,  North  Carolina,  March  yth,  1853.  Secretary  of  In- 
terior, Robert  McClelland,  Michigan,  March  7th,  1853 ;  Jacob 
Thompson,  Mississippi,  March  6th,  1856.  Attorney-General, 
Caleb  Gushing,  Massachusetts,  March  yth,  1853.  Postmaster- 
General,  James  Campbell,  Pennsylvania,  March  yth,  1853. 

XVIII.;  1857-1861   (page  170). 

Secretary  of  State,  Lewis  Cass,  Michigan,  March  6th.  1857; 
J.  S.  Black,  Pennsylvania,  December  iyth,  1860.  Secretary 
of  Treasury,  Howell  Cobb,  Georgia,  March  6th,  1857  ;  Philip 
F.  Thomas,  Maryland,  December  I2th,  1860;  John  A.  Dix, 

1  Organized  by  Act  of  March  3^,  1849. 
2O 


306  American  Politics. 

New  York,  January  nth,  1861.  Secretary  of  War,  John  B. 
Floyd,  Virginia,  March  6th,  1857  ;  Joseph  Holt,  Kentucky, 
January  1 8th,  1861.  Secretary  of  Navy,  Isaac  Toucey,  Con- 
necticut, March  6th,  1857.  Secretary  of  Interior,  Jacob 
Thompson,  continued.  Attorney-  General,  J.  S.  Black, 
Pennsylvania,  March  6th,  1857  ;  E.  M.  Stanton,  Pennsylvania, 
December  2Oth,  1860.  Postmaster-General,  Aaron  V. 
Brown,  Tennessee,  March  6th,  1857;  Joseph  Holt,  Kentucky, 
March  I4th,  1859;  Horatio  King,  Maine,  February  I2th, 
1861. 

XIX.  AND  XX.;  1861-1869  (page  186). 

Secretary  of  State,  William  H.  Seward,  New  York,  March 
5th,  1861.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  S.  P.  Chase,  Ohio,  March 
5th,  1861  ;  W.  P.  Fessenden,  Maine,  July  1st,  1864 ;  Hugh 
McCulloch,  Indiana,  March  7th,  1865.  Secretary  of  War, 
Simon  Cameron,  Pennsylvania,  March  5th,  1861 ;  Edwin  M. 
Stanton,  Pennsylvania,  January  I5th,  1862;  U.  S.  Grant  (ad 
interim),1  August  I2th,  1867  ;  Edwin  M.  Stanton  (reinstated), 
January  I4th,  1868 ;  J.  M.  Schofield,  Illinois,  May  28th,  1868. 
Secretary  of  Navy,  Gideon  Welles,  Connecticut,  March  5th, 
1861.  Secretary  of  Interior,  Caleb  P.  Smith,  March  5th, 
1861  ;  John  P  Usher,  Indiana,  January  8th,  1863;  James 
Harlan,  Iowa,  May  I5th,  1865  ;  O.  H.  Browning,  Illinois, 
July  27th,  1866.  Attorney-General,  Edward  Bates,  Mis- 
souri, March  5th,  1861  ;  Titian  J.  Coffee,  June  22d,  1863; 
James  Speed,  Kentucky,  December  2d,  1864;  Henry  Stan- 
bery,  Ohio,  Tuly  2^  ^66 ;  William  M.  Evarts,  New  York, 
July  151)1,  1868.  Postmaster-General,  Montgomery  Blair, 
Maryland,  March  5th,  1861  ;  William  Dennison,  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember 24th,  1864;  Alexander  W.  Randall,  Wisconsin,  July 
25th,  1866. 


1  See  p.  ao$. 


Cabinet  Officers  of  the  Administrations.    307 

XXI.  AND  XXII.;   1869-1877  (page  209). 

Secretary  of  State,  E.  B.  Washburne,  Illinois,  March  5th, 
1869;  Hamilton  Fish,  New  York,  March  nth,  1869.  Secre- 
tary of  Treasury,  George  S.  Boutwell,  Massachusetts,  March 
nth,  1869;  William  A.  Richardson,  Massachusetts,  March 
I7th,  1873;  Benjamin  H.  Bristow,  Kentucky,  June  ad,  1874; 
Lot  M.  Morrill,  Maine,  June  2ist,  1876.  Secretary  of  War, 
John  A.  Rawhns,  Illinois,  March  nth,  1869  ;  William  T.  Sher- 
man, Ohio,  September  gth,  1869;  William  W.  Belknap,  Iowa, 
October  25th,  1869 ;  Alphonso  Taft,  Ohio,  March  8th,  1876 ; 
J.  D.  Cameron,  Pennsylvania,  May  22d,  1876.  Secretary  of 
Navy,  Adolph  E.  Borie,  Pennsylvania,  March  5th,  1869; 
George  M.  Robeson,  New  Jersey,  June  25th,  1869.  Secretary 
of  Interior,  Jacob  D.  Cox,  Ohio,  March  5th,  1869  ;  Columbus 
Delano,  Ohio,  November  ist,  1870  ;  Zachariah  Chandler,  Mich- 
igan, October  igth,  1875.  Attorney-General,  E.  R.  Hoar, 
Massachusetts,  March  5th,  1869  ;  Amos  T.  Akerman,  Georgia, 
June  23d,  1870  ;  George  H.  Williams,  Oregon,  December  I4th, 
1871;  Edwards  Pierrepont,  New  York,  April  26th,  1875;  Al- 
phonso Taft,  Ohio,  May  22d,  1876.  Postmaster-General, 
J.  A.  J.  Creswell,  Maryland,  March  5th,  1869;  Marshall  Jewell, 
Connecticut,  August  24th,  1874 ;  James  M.  Tyner,  Indiana, 
July  i2th,  1876. 

XXIII.;  1877-1881   (page  223). 

Secretary  of  State,  William  M.  Evarts,  New  York,  March 
1 2th,  1877.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  John  Sherman,  Ohio, 
March  8th,  1877.  Secretary  of  War,  George  W.  McCrary, 
Iowa,  March  i2th,  1877  ;  Alexander  Ramsey,  Minnesota,  De- 
cember 1 2th,  1879.  Secretary  of  Navy,  Richard  W.  Thomp- 
son, Indiana.  March  I2th,  1877;  Nathan  Goff,  Jr.,  West  Vir- 
ginia, January  6th,  1881.  Secretary  of  Interior,  Carl  Schurz, 
Missouri,  March  i2th,  1877.  Attorney-General,  Charles 
Devens,  Massachusetts,  March  i2th,  1877.  Postmaster- 


308 


American  Politics. 


General,    David    M.    Key,    Tennessee,    March    12th,    1877 ; 
Horace  Maynard,  Tennessee,  August  25th,  1880. 

XXIV.;  1881-1885  (page  247). 

Secretary  of  State,  James  G.  Elaine,  Maine,  March  5th, 
1 88 1  ;  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen,  New  Jersey,  December 
1 2th,  1881.  Secretary  of  Treasury,  William  H.  Windom, 
Minnesota,  March  5th,  1881  ;  Charles  J.  Foiger,  New  York, 
October  27th,  1881.  Secretary  of  War,  Robert  T.  Lincoln, 
Illinois,  March  5th,  1881.  Secretary  of  Navy,  W.  H.  Hunt, 
Louisiana,  March  5th,  1881.  Secretary  of  Interior,  S.  J, 
Kirkwood,  Iowa,  March  5th,  1881.  Attorney-General, 
Wayne  MacVeagh,  Pennsylvania,  March  5th,  1881  ;  Benjamin 
H.  Brewster,  Pennsylvania,  December  i6th,  1881.  Post- 
master-General, Thomas  L.  James,  New  York,  March  5th, 
1881  ;  Timothy  O.  Howe,  Wisconsin,  December  2Oth,  1881. 


ft,  123,  177,^ 
178  {note}. 

Abolition  of  Slavery,  195. 
Adams,  C.  F. ,  148,  218. 
Adams,  John,  18,  27,  39,  40,  47, 

49- 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  67,  91,  95, 
101,  128,  134. 

Adams,  J.  Q.,  Jr.,  219. 

Admission  of  the  States,  289. 

Alabama  Claims,  214. 

Alien  Law,  44. 

American  Party,  160. 

American  Whigs,  5. 

Ames,  Oakes,  220. 

Ames,  Fisher,  37. 

Amnesty,  201,  216,  230. 

Annexation  of  Louisiana,  55  ;  of 
Florida,  85  ,  of  Texas,  137- 
140. 

Anti-Federal  Party  (see  Demo- 
cratic-Republican Party}. 

Anti-Masonic  Party,  102. 

Anti-Nebraska  Men,  159. 

Arthur,  C.  A.,  245,  246,  247. 

Articles  of  Confederation,  7,  248. 

BANK,  NATIONAL,  23,  70 ;  the 
second,  81  ;  overthrown  by 
Jackson,  104-118;  substitutes 
for,  133,  155,  191. 

Banks,  N.  P.,  Jr.,  161. 

Barbour,  P.  P.,  92. 

Barnburners,  148. 

Bell,  John,  181,  185. 

Birney,  James  G. ,  130,  137. 


Jt 

Black  Republican,  162. 
Blaine  Amendment,  230. 
Blaine,  James  G. ,  209,  214. 
Blair,  F.  P.,  207. 
Bland  Silver  Bill,  239. 
"  Bloody  Bill,"  113. 
Border  Ruffians,  163. 
Boyd,  Linn,  155,  158. 
Breckenridge,  John  C. ,  166,  168, 

181,  185. 

Bristow,  B.  H.,  232. 
Broad  Seal  War,  128. 
Brooks,  Preston  S.,  165. 
Brooks,  James, '220. 
Brown,  B.  G.,  217,  218,  221. 
Brown,  John,  177. 
Buchanan,  James,  166,  168,  179, 

183- 
Burr,  Aaron,  27,  39,  49,  5$,  59, 

62,  64. 

Butler,  Benjamin  F. ,  190. 
Butler,  William  O. ,  147,  150. 

CABINKTS,  300. 

Calhoun,    John   C. ,  71,    95,   98, 

104,  108,  113. 
Calls  for  Troops,  228. 
Capital,  The  National,  23,  49. 
Gary,  S.  F. ,  231. 
Cass,  Lewis,  147,  150. 
Caucus  Nominations,  49,  94. 
Censure  of  Jackson,   117,    122  ; 

of  Tyler,  135. 

Centennial  Exhibition,  230,  231. 
Chambers,  B.  J.,  245. 


3io 


Index. 


Chase,    Salmon    P.,    192,    205, 

211. 

Chase  Trial,  58,  59. 
Cherokee  Indian  Case,  107,  112. 
Chesapeake  Case,  64. 
Cipher  Telegrams,  240. 
Civil  Rights  Bill,  199,  216,  227. 
Civil  Service,  105,  141,  215,  247. 
Clay,  Henry,  71,  76,  81,  83,  84, 

87,  88,  93,  95,96,  103,  in,  114, 

117,  129,  137,  140. 
Clinton,  De  Witt,  72,  75. 
Clinton,  George,  27,  58,  59,  66, 

68. 

Cobb,  Hovvell,  153. 
Cochrane,  John  C.,  193. 
Colfax,  iSchuyler,  193,  198,  204, 

206,  207,  219. 
Compromise  of  1820,  86,  159  ;  of 

1850,   153,   157,  163;    Critten- 

den,  183. 
Confederation,    Articles    of,   6, 

248  ;  revision,  9. 
Confederate  States,  184. 
Congress,  Peace,  184. 
Congress,  Powers  of,  12. 
Conservatives,  127. 
Constitution,   The,   n,   15,   196, 

262  ;  its  Amendments,  20,  34, 

58,    184,    193,     194,     199,   207, 

281. 

Constitutional  Union  Party,  181. 
Convention  of  1787,  10. 
Conventions,  Nominating,  in. 
Cooper,  Peter,  231. 
Copperheads,  194  (note). 
Corporal's  Guard,  135. 
Courts,  United  States,  12. 
Covode  Investigation,  179. 
Crawford,  William   H.,  71,   82, 

94,  95,  104. 

Crittenden,  John  J.,  183. 
Cuba,  173,  180. 
Cumberland  Road,  92. 

DALLAS,  GEORGE  M.,  138,  140. 
Davis,  Jefferson,  184. 
Davis,  John  W. ,  142. 
Dayton,  Jonathan,  36,  42. 
Dayton,  William  L. ,  169,  170. 


Debt,  Hamilton's  Settlement  of 
Public,  21. 

Democrat,  26,  97. 

Democratic  Clubs,  30,  34. 

Democratic  Party,  overthrows 
the  United  States  Bank,  106- 
118  ;  supports  War  with  Mex- 
ico, 138  ;  ruled  by  Southern 
members,  158 ;  Division  of, 
180  ;  opposes  War  against  the 
Rebellion,  194  ;  opposes  Re- 
construction by  Congress,  207. 

Democratic-Republican  Party, 
25>  45  I  nrst  great  success  of, 
49,  52  ;  supports  War  with 
England,  71  ;  division  of,  80 
(see  thereafter  Democratic 
Party). 

Demonetization  of  Silver,  239. 

Deposits,  Removal  of,  115. 

Disputed  Elections,  49,  95,  124, 
236. 

Dominica,  213,  223. 

Donelson,  A.  J.,  166,  168. 

Dough  Faces,  89  (note). 

Douglas,  S.  A.,  176,  180,  184, 
185. 

Draft  Act  (of  1814),  78;  (of 
1863),  192. 

Dred  Scott  Case,  170,  180,  185. 

Duane,  William  J.,  115. 

ELECTION    LAWS,    GENERAL, 

211,   2l6,   242,   243. 

Electoral  Commission,  236. 

Electoral  Counts,  18,  27,  40,  50, 
59,  68,  75,  82,  91,  95,  101,  114, 
123,  131,  140,  150,  157,  168, 

185,   195,   2O7,  221,  237,  246. 

Electoral  Votes,  290. 
Electors,  mode  of  choosing,  18, 

102,  239. 

Ellmaker,  Amos,  in,  114. 
Emancipation,  191. 
Embargo  Bill,  65,  67,  77. 
England, 31, 63,  69  ;  War  against 

73  ;  Difficulties  with,  102. 
English,  Wm.  H. ,  245,  246. 
Era  of  Good  Feeling,  92, 
Everett,  Edward,  181,  185. 


Index. 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS,  Washing-  ] 
ton's,  38  ;  Jackson's,  124. 

Fauchet,  Citizen,  34. 

Federal  Powers,  12. 

Federalist,  The,  16. 

Federal  Party,  14,  25,  27,  48 ; 
first  great  defeat,  49,  53  ;  op- 
poses the  Embargo,  67  ;  and 
War  with  England,  74 ;  bo- 
comes  extinct,  80. 

Filibustering,  174, 

Fillmore,  Millard,  148,  150,  154, 
166,  168. 

Florida,  234,  238. 

Florida  Purchase,  85. 

Floyd,  John,  112,  114. 

Foot's  Resolution,  106. 

Force  Bill,  113,  214,  217. 

France,  28,  41,  43  ;  War  with, 
47 ;  treaty  with,  58  ;  claims 
against,  102. 

Freedmen's  Bureau,  195,  198, 
200. 

Free  Soil  Party,  148,  156. 

Free  Trade,  88. 

Frelinghuysen,  Theodora,  137, 
140. 

Fremont,  John  C. ,  167,  iG8,  ITO, 

193- 

French  Revolution,  25,  28. 
Fugitive    Slave  Law,    154,    157, 

193- 


GARFIELD,  JAMES  A.,  239,  244, 

246,  247. 

Genet,  Citizen,  29,  31. 
Gerry,  Elbridge,  72,  75. 
Giddings,  J.  R. ,  134. 
Graham,    William    Alexruid^r, 

156.  157- 

Granger,  Francis,  120,  124. 
Grangers,  224 
Grant,  U.  S.,  205,  207,  209,  219, 

221,  232,  244. 

Greeley,  Horace,  218,  221. 
Greenback  Party,  231,  241. 
Greenbacks,  191,  211,  224. 
Grow,  G.  A.,  189. 
Gunboat  System,  60. 


HABEAS  CORPUS,  62,  192,  197, 

215,  217. 

Hale,  John  P..  156. 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  16,  19,  21, 

23-  34-  35.  48,  49.  59-  81. 
Hamlin,  Hannibal,  181,  185. 
Hancock,  W.  S.,  245,  246. 
Harper's  Ferry,  177. 
Harrison,    Wm.    H.,    120,    123, 

129,  131,  132. 

Hartford  Convention,  78,  i6o. 
Hayes,  R.  B.,  232,  234,  237,  242. 
Helper's    "  Impending  Crisis," 

178. 
Hendricks,  T.  A.,  221,  232,  234, 

237- 

Henry  Documents,  72. 
Homestead  Bill,  177,   179,    190, 

199. 

Hunkers,  148. 
Hunter,  R.  M.  T.(  128. 

lMPEACHMENT(of  Judge  Chase, 
58,  59  ;   (of  Judge  Peck),  109 
(of  President  Johnson),   201 
205  ;  (of  Secretary  Belknap), 
231. 

"  Impending  Crisis,"  178. 

Income  Tax  Law,  193. 

Independent  Treasury,  118,  119, 
126,  129. 

Ingersoll,  Jared,  72,  75. 

Internal  Improvements,  62,  92 
94,  98,  101,  104,  107,  109,  129, 
133,  136,  145,  146,  155,  161 
185- 

Internal  Revenue  Law,  193. 


JACKSON,  ANDREW,  85,  95,  97 

IOI,   III,   114,   117,   122,   124. 

Jay,  John,  16,  20,  30,  33,  35. 
Jay's  Treaty,  33,  35,  37,  4-1- 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  20,  25,  2^ 

32,  39,  40,  45,  49.  50.  53.  57. 

71,  86,  105,  108. 
Johnson,  Andrew,  194,  195,  19^ 

200,  205. 

Johnson,  H.  V.,  180,  185. 
''ohnson,  R.  M.,  120,  124,  131. 


312 


Index. 


Jones,  J.  W.,  136. 
Julian,  Geo.  W. ,  156. 

KANSAS  (Pawnee  Constitution), 
163  ;  (Topeka  Constitution), 
164 ;  (Lecompton  Constitu- 
tion), 175  ;  (Wyandot  Consti- 
tution), 177,  185. 

Kentucky  Resolutions  (of  1798), 
46;  (of  1799),  47,  97,  100,  105, 
182. 

Kerr,  M.  C.,  229. 

King,  Rufus,  30,  58,  59,  66,  68, 
82. 

King,  Wm.  R. ,  156,  157. 

Kitchen  Cabinet,  109. 

Know  Nothing,  160,  181. 

Knox,  Henry,  19. 

Ku  Klux  Klan,  212. 

LANE,  JOSEPH,  181,  185. 
Lecompton  Constitution,  175. 
Lee,  Henry,  112,  114. 
Legal  Tender,  191,  211. 
Lemoyne,  Francis,  130. 
Liberal-Republicans,  217. 
Liberty  Party,  130,  143. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  181,  185,  191, 

195,  196. 

Loco-foco,  120  (note). 
Loose   Construction,    I,    14,  97, 

162,  206. 

Lopez  Expedition,  174. 
Louisiana,    221,    224,   225,    235, 

238. 
Louisiana  Purchase,  55. 

MACON,   NATHANIEL,  54,   58, 

60. 
Madison,  James,  10,   16,  45,  63, 

66,  68,  72,  75,  105 
Maine,  244. 
Mangum,  W.  P.,  123. 
Marshall,  John,  64. 
Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  86. 
Maysville  Road  Bill,  107. 
McClellan,  G.  B.,  194,  195. 
McLean,  John,  in,  120,  124. 
Mexico,  War  with,  141,  142. 
"  Midnight  Judges,"  55. 


Missouri    Compromise,   86,   88, 

89,  159,  163. 
Monroe  Doctrine,  93. 
Morgan,  William,  103. 
Morris,  Thomas,  137. 
Morton's  Amendment,  230. 
Muhlenberg,  F.  A.,  19,  31. 

NAPOLEONIC  WARS,  60,  65. 
National  Bank  (see  Bank). 
National   Party  (see    Greenback 

Party). 
National  Republican  Party,  96, 

103  (see  Whig  Party). 
Negro  Exodus,  243. 
Non-Intercourse  Act,  68,  70. 
North,  Lord,  5. 
Nullification,  105,  108,  112. 
Nullification  Proclamation,  113, 

183. 

OATH,  IRON-CLAD,  191. 

O'Conor,  Charles,  219. 

Office,  Tenure  of,  53,   105,  141, 

203. 

Orders  in  Council,  65,  73,  77. 
Ordinances  of  Secession,  182. 
Ordinance  of  1787,  57,  86,  144, 

195- 

Oregon,  138,  144,  145,  147,  23^ 
Orr,  Jas.  L. ,  175. 
Ostend  Manifesto,  174. 

PANIC  OF  1837,  126. 

Party  Names  :  Ame  ican  Whig: 
5  ;  Federalist,  14  ;  Anti-Fed- 
eralist, 14 ;  Republican  (Dem- 
ocratic-Republican), 26,  97; 
Quids,  61  ;  National  Repub- 
lican, 96  ;  Democratic  ("Jack- 
son's Men  "),  97  ;  Anti-Ma- 
sonic, 102  ;  Whig,  120  ;  Loco- 
foco,  120  (note)  ;  Abolitionist, 
123  ;  Conservative,  127  ;  Lib- 
erty, 130;  Hunker,  148  ;  Barn- 
burner, 148  ;  Free  Soil,  148  ; 
Anti-Nebraska,  159  ;  Ameri- 
can (Know  Nothing),  160  ; 
Republican,  162  ;  Constitu- 
tional Union,  181  ;  Union, 187  : 


Index. 


313 


RadiCu..,  193  ;  Copperhead, 
194  (note)  ;  Liberal  Republi- 
can, 219  ;  Greenback  or  Na- 
tional, 231. 

Patrons  of  Husbandry,  224. 

Patterson's  "  New  Jersey  Plan," 
10 

Pawnee  Constitution,  163. 

Pendleton,  George  H.,  194,  195. 

Pennington,  William,  178. 

Personal  Liberty  Laws,  154. 

Pet  Banks,  116,  125. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  156,  157,  164. 

Pinckney,  C.  C.,  41,  49,  58,  59, 
66,  68. 

Pinckney,  Thomas,  39. 

Pocket  Veto,  108. 

Political  Parties,  Origin  of,  3. 

Poland  Committee,  220. 

Polk,  James  K. ,  120,  126,  131, 
138,  140. 

Popular  Sovereignty,  4,  152, 
1 80. 

Potter  Committee,  240. 

Presidential  Elections  (see  Elec- 
toral Counts,  Disputed  Elec- 
tions) . 

Protection,  21,  88,  99,  104,  185. 

QUIDS,  61,  66,  74. 

RADICAL  MEN,  193. 

Railroad  Strikes,  239. 

Randall,  S.  J.,  236,  239,  242. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  10,  20. 

Randolph,  John,  61,  74,  89. 

Reconstruction,  202,  210,  212, 
228. 

Republican  Party  of  1791  (see 
Democratic-Republican  Party). 

Republican  Party  of  1856:  ori- 
gin, 162  ;  first  great  success, 
182  ;  manages  the  War  against 
the  Rebellion,  187;  quarrels 
with  Johnson,  200 ;  accom- 
plishes Reconstruction  by 
Congress,  202,  210,  228. 

Resumption,  227,  241. 

Returning  Boards,  221,  234,  239. 

Riders,  149,  162,  202,  216,  242. 


Rush,  Richard,  101. 

SALARY  GRAB,  220. 

San  Domingo,  213,  223. 

Schurz,  Carl,  217. 

Scott,  Dred,  170,  180,  185. 

Scott,  Winfield,  156,  157. 

Secession,  182,  188. 

Sedition  Law,  44,  99,  214. 

Seminole  War,  85,  127.      • 

Sergeant,  John,  in,  114. 

Seward,  William  H. ,  162  (note). 

Seymour,  Horatio,  207. 

Silver,  Demonetization  of,  239. 

Slaughter  House  Cases,  223. 

Slave  Power,  172. 

Slavery,  86,  122,  155,  172,  191, 

195- 

Slave  Trade,  n,  174. 
Smith,  William,  101. 
South  Carolina,  182,  233,  238. 
Specie  Circular,  121,  125,  127. 
Specie  Payments,  227, 241. 
Squatter  Sovereignty,  152,  180. 
Stanton,  E.  M.,  204,  206. 
State  Bank  System,  119. 
Stephens,  A.  H.,  185. 
Stevenson,    Andrew,    100,    106, 

109,  117,  118. 
Straight  Outs,  219. 
Strict    Construction,    i,   14,  97, 

162,  206. 
Sub-Treasury  System,  118,  119, 

126,  129,  133. 

Sumner,  Charles,  165,  216,  227. 
Sumter,  Fort,  187. 

TANEY,  R.  B.,  116,  118. 

Tariff,  20,  84,  87,  93  ;  (of  1824), 
94,98;  (of  1828),  loo ;  (of  1832), 
no;  (of  1833),  114;  (of  1842), 
136;  (of  1846),  145;  (of  1857), 
168  ;  (of  1861),  185,  189,  191. 

Taylor,  John  W.  89,  97. 

Taylor,  Zachary,  142,  147,  150, 

154- 

Tazewell,  L.  W.,  131. 
Texas,  85,  122,  136,  137, 139, 142. 
Texas  v.  White,  210. 
Third  Term,  232. 


Index. 


Thomas,  Lorenzo,  205. 
Tid&l  Wave,  229. 
Tilden,  S.  J.,  232,  234,  237. 
Tompkins,  D.  D.,  82,  91. 
Topeka  Constitution,  164. 
Tory,  5. 

Trumbull,  Jonathan,  25. 
Tyler,  John,  113  (note),  120,  124, 
129,  131,  132,  138,  194  (note). 

UNION  PARTY,  187. 

VAN  BUREN,  MARTIN,  109,  no, 
in,  114,  120,  123,  131,  138, 
148. 

Varnum,  Joseph  B. ,  69. 

Virginia  Resolutions  :  (of  1798), 
46;  (of  1799),  47. 

WALKER,  R.  J.,  168. 
Walker,  William,  174. 
Warner  Silver  Bill,  242. 
Washington,  George,  10,  18,  27, 

29,  36,  38,  43. 
Webster,  Daniel,  120,  123,  133 

(note). 


West  Virginia,  192. 

Wheeler,  W.  A  ,  226  (note),  232, 

234.  237- 
Whig,  5. 
Whig   Party:  origin,   120;    first 

great   success,  130;    quarrels 

with  Tyler,  133  ;  decline,  151, 

156,  166. 

Whiskey  Insurrection,  34. 
Whiskey  Ring,  227. 
White,  Hugh  L. ,  119,  121,  123. 
White,  John,  133. 
White,  League,  212  (note). 
Whitney's  Cotton  Gin,  86. 
Wilmot  Proviso,   144,  146,   151, 

195- 

Wilson,  Henry,  219, 
Winthrop,  R.'C.,  146. 
Wirt,  William,  in,  114. 
Wright,  Silas,  138. 
Wyandot  Constitution,  177,  179. 

185- 

X.  Y.  Z.  MISSION,  42. 
YAZOO  FRAUDS,  56. 


33944 


A     000  667  844     5 


